Detective Rose: Search for the Bloody Murderer
by DangerousRockstar
Summary: A long story when Amy & Cream tries to find a killer that strikes young women at night.  One day, Amy meets a cute guy named Shadow. Loves in the day, kills in the night. ShadAmy, lil' SonAmy & SonSal. Rated T. Update chapter: My today's thoughts on it.
1. Chapter 1:A Sudden Night

Ch.1: One Sudden Night

(Amy's P.O.V.):

_This city is called Station Square, one the coolest places to be. I live here, in an apartment down at Green Street. At 'Emerald Hotel', I stay in room 206. However, I don't live alone. I live with my best friend/roommate, Cream. She's a sweet and kind rabbit that always does her best to help. For a 15 year old, she's really sweet, considering she's not like those bratty teenagers in the streets. Betcha wonderin' who I am, right? Well, my name is Amy Rose. I'm 21 years old, and I'm a detective. I used to tag along with the Chaotix years ago, but I decided to take my own way of hunting down criminals. Good thing Cream's my sidekick, because nothing can get done when I'm by myself. So now, they call me 'Detective Rose'. And Cream's nickname is…um…haven't thought of it yet. But I'll think about it._

_I remember far back that I'd always helped Sonic the Hedgehog to save the world from Dr. Eggman, who's in jail for life right now. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't even get his attention. Plus, he's with Sally now. Think they're engaged now. Cha, what does that matter? I've been over that hero' since I became 13. Guess he doesn't go for the 'sweet kind' of girls. Heck, I was so ready to prepare a future for the both of us. But no. He had to go on his way. Still, I don't give a damn, because he didn't give a damn about me. So I'm now single. As for my friends, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Espio, Charmy, Vector, Mighty, and Vanilla, they're growing up too. I guess I'm not the only one who has changed in the time being._

_Anyway, that's all for my background history crap. Now, it's time for a real story. A case that I'll never forget. It all started on a cold rainy night of April 25__th __2006_._I was in my room watching TV while Cream was making some pie. Just at the stroke of 10:00 p.m., the story begins…_ (P.O.V. Ends.)

Cream was sitting at the kitchen table while Amy was watching a boring soap opera on the television in the living room. The pink hedgehog yawned. The timer on the oven beeped while the pie was done. The cute rabbit cheered as she ran to the oven. For safety, she put on her oven mitts. Then she opened the oven and pulled out a large plate of cherry pie. Smoothly, the smell caught Amy's nose. Apparently, she was hungry since she didn't eat a lot that day. Cream gently placed the pie on the counter. Amy rushed into the kitchen with hunger.

"Bout time", she quickly set the table for her and Cream.

"Yeah, I know", Cream said as she fanned the cooked pie so the heat would dissolve a little. "You seem kind of hungry", she looked at Amy, who was waiting impatiently at the table.

"I know", Amy hopped up and down in her seat like a little kid.

"Welp, here it is", Cream presented the pie at the table.

"Yes", Amy got her utensils ready.

All of the sudden, the phone rang loudly. Amy growled angrily as Cream sat the pie on the table. Since Cream still had on her oven mitts, her friend stomped to the phone that was on the wall near the door. Cooling off her anger, Amy picked it up.

"Talk to me", she played with her sort of long hair.

"Rose, there's been a murder at an alley", a man said calmly.

"Really?" Amy widened her eyes. "Where?"

"Right down at 25th and Little Street", the man on the phone explained.

"How does it look?" Amy scratched her nose.

"Looks deadly", the man sighed. "Really deadly."

"Hm", Amy nodded. "I'm on my way", she said and then hung up.

"What's wrong, Amy?" Cream asked nicely.

"We got a case to fill in", Amy looked back at her. "Put the pie in the fridge."

"Ok", Cream nodded.

After she put the pie in the refrigerator, she and Amy put on their raincoats. Amy's raincoat was her favorite red color while Cream's was bright yellow. Aside that, Amy took her car keys, Cream grabbed her notebook, and they put on their tennis shoes, and then left the room. Once Amy was done locking the door, the girls took off to the elevator. It went down very slowly as they were heading down to the B2F, which was the garage. The peach colored rabbit yawned as Amy whistled some tune up in her mind.

Five minutes later, they reached down to the garage. Bad thing was that a few light bulbs looked like they were about to blow up. A few sections in the garage were dark. Amy pressed a button on her car alarm, and heard a loud honk. With luck, she and Cream dashed to the car. It was a white 2004 Cadillac XLR that automatically opened the front doors. The two girls got in and fastened their seatbelts as the doors closed. Carefully, Amy turned her key into ignition and backed up the car. Then she drove out of the exit while avoiding the other cars. Next, she sped off into the clear street with some loud rock and roll music playing on the radio. Cream held her blue notebook in her left arm and pulled up a red umbrella under her seat with the other. Only Amy kept focused on the road.

(Amy's P.O.V.):

_I haven't had a murder case in three years. The last case was about some dude that killed his wife after she cheated on him. But this one was bloody. With Cream by my side, I was ready. So anxious to find the criminal…_

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2:A Bloody Scene

Ch.2: A Blood Scene

(Amy's P.O.V.):

_A few minutes later, we made to 25__th__ and Little Street. As we got out of the car in the cold rain, cop cars were everywhere. The crime scene looked serious. Just then, I began to have an OJ Simpson flashback. _(P.O.V. ends)

"Whoa", Cream said as she opened her red umbrella. "This looks serious."

"I know", Amy said and pulled out her digital camera. "Let's check it out."

The girls walked pass by a few cops that were talking to each other about the crime scene. As they came across a small group, Amy recognized a few men from the group. There was a lime green crocodile with a purple chameleon, a black and yellow bumble bee, and a black and red armadillo-all in their raincoats. They nodded as a cop was telling them something. Amy walked up to them as Cream followed. The crocodile looked back.

"Well, well", he waved. "If it isn't Amy."

"Hello, Vector", Amy smiled.

"Long time no see", the purple chameleon said without looking back.

"Espio", Amy placed her hands on her hips. "Still gullible, aren't cha?"

"Yeah, right", Espio scoffed.

"Amy!!" the bumble bee zoomed to her and hugged her tightly.

"Charmy", Amy tried to breath. "Too tight, too tight, can't breathe!" her face began to turn blue a little.

"Sorry", the bee let go of her and she started panting slowly. "But it's been so long."

"I see you haven't changed either", Amy smiled at him.

"Amy", the armadillo walked up to her in shock.

"Mighty", Amy offered a hand for a friendly shake.

"Did you gain weight?" Mighty asked nicely.

"Why you little-!" Amy pounded Mighty on his head with all of her might. "How dare you say something like that?! I weigh about 120 pounds!"

"Well, look who we have here", Vector turned to Cream happily. "How's it going, Creamy?"

"Good, and the name's Cream", the rabbit winked.

"Can't believe it's been about 6 years, Ames", Charmy shook Amy's hand cheerfully.

"Yeah, I know", Amy winked.

(Amy's P.O.V.):

_Gosh, they haven't changed a bit. I haven't seen them in six years, since I left them to start my own detective agency. Bad news for them is that I make more money than them, ha-ha. We've seen each other occasionally, like birthday parties, holidays, and stuff. But still, it's been a long time since I've seen them. Vector's still goofy, Charmy has grown a little taller, Espio is still quiet and gullible, and Mighty is still and always will be an idiot._ (P.O.V. ends)

"Anyway", Espio interrupted the friendly reunion. "Take a look at this", he led Amy into the middle of the street.

"Oh, my god!" Amy gasped.

"Eek!" Cream shrieked that almost made her dropped her notebook.

Lying in a large circle of blood, a young human blonde girl was found dead. The blood was mostly coming from her stomach and near her neck. Some of the red substance reached to her long golden hair while her blue eyes were still open. She only wore a short pink mini skirt along with a torned dark red bra. Her skin color was brightly pale. Cream gulped down her pukes as Amy took a few pictures.

"Glad you detectives could make it", a chubby cop walked up to Amy and Espio.

"What happened here?" Espio asked suspiciously.

"We got a call just a few minutes ago", the cop explained. "A resident here said something that he heard some screaming and yelling."

"When did all of that happen?" Amy asked as Cream wrote down the story on her notebook.

"Just about 10 minutes ago", the cop answered.

"Whoa", Amy looked at her watch. "Are you serious?"

"Yep", the cop nodded. "Plus, a couple of witnesses, which are with my pals over there-," he pointed to his left to a small group of cops with two teenage boys. "-they said that they saw someone running away after he stabbed this girl to death."

"Yuck", Amy looked down at the dead teenage girl.

"But we found this", the cop held up a chef's knife in a plastic bag. "We counted and it looked like the guy stabbed her 10 times."

Espio and Amy gasped and Cream fainted. They were all shocked, yet scared. The witnesses were still explaining what they saw to the cops. Mighty helped Cream up to her feet as she wobbled dizzily.

"The girl was stabbed in the stomach, the heart, both her lungs, and between her legs", the cop explained.

"Ugh", Espio and Amy raised an eyebrow in disgust.

A Station Square news truck pulled up to the far right of Amy's car. Then two camera men and a female news reporter got out of the car without any raincoats. Vector and Charmy watched them as they scratched their heads. Amy took the knife away from the cop and examined it suspiciously. Then she looked down at the girl again. Poor thing. She looked like a high school student, and yet she's been killed! Amy shook her head sadly.

A few minutes after Amy, Espio, and the cop explained the news reporter about the scene of the crime, an ambulance came by and took the girl to the hospital. After that, the streets were cleared and everyone left. Rain was starting pour down a little faster than before. Lucky for Amy, she knows how to drive in a rainstorm. The thunder roared a couple times fast as the lightning flashed the sky. Cream was asleep in the backseat as Amy was wide awake, driving carefully. She couldn't get the young girl out of her mind. _"Her death must've been serious,"_ Amy thought to herself. _"Who killed her, and why?"_

Minutes later, they made it back to the hotel for the night…

_TBC (To be continued)._


	3. Chapter 3:Sonic and Sally

Ch.3: Sonic and Sally

The next morning, Cream walked to Amy and tapped her on the shoulder. The detective was in a deep sleep, considering she kept looking at the clue that she got last night. Slowly, Amy lift her head up with a loud yawn.

"What's up?" she asked tiredly.

"It's Monday", Cream explained kindly.

"And?" Amy rubbed her eyes.

"I got to go to school", Cream sweatdropped.

"Oh, yeah, have a good day", Amy waved.

"Ok", Cream nodded cheerfully. "I'll see you later", she then ran out of the room.

"It's Monday for real?" Amy asked herself as she rubbed her head. "Uh, I guess I didn't get enough sleep last night."

For the pass 20 minutes, she took a short shower, put on some new clothes, and tied her hair up into a ponytail. With all of that done, she went into the kitchen and grabbed a box of Trix cereal off the top of the fridge. She shook it a few times. Apparently, it was totally empty. Amy's stomach started growling for some breakfast.

"_Dammit",_ Amy thought as she shook her head. _"That's my favorite cereal."_

So now, she had to get something to eat, since there wasn't a lot of breakfast food in the fridge either. She put on her pink jacket, grabbed her keys and left the room. A little while later, she made it to a local McDonald's restaurant. The line was slow on the outside and the inside. With no other choice, Amy parked her car and went inside. Then she decided to sit at an empty table by herself. She starred out the window, just in case someone might try to steal her car and that she could take them down. The outside world was safe, yet crowded. She sighed as she looked at her watch.

"Oh, my god, Amy?" a familiar voice called her out.

"Hm?" Amy turned to whoever was talking to her.

Standing next to her was a blue hedgehog with green eyes and wore a T-shirt and sagging jeans. He waved at her with a smile. Amy blinked twice.

"Sonic?" she asked to make sure if it was really whom.

"Yeah", Sonic nodded. "What's been going on?"

"Oh, nothing", Amy kicked back in her seat. "Just working on some detective cases and all."

"Oh, yeah, that", Sonic scratched his head. "Forgot that you work as a 'detective' now."

"Yeah", Amy looked away from him.

"Um", the blue hedgehog cleared his throat. "You look nice."

"Thanks", Amy smiled.

"Sonic", a brown chipmunk/squirrel girl jumped on his back and hugged him around his neck.

"Hey, babe", Sonic wrapped his arms around her backwards.

"Who're you talking to?" the girl looked at Amy.

"You remember Amy, right Sal?" Sonic greeted them.

"Sally", Amy bobbed her head.

"Amy", Sally smiled a little. "You've grown a lot lately."

"Yep", Amy looked out the window again.

"Well, um…" Sonic tried to speak to her but he stopped.

He starred at Amy deeply. She wore an opened pink jacket, a white half top, long black pants, and her regular red headband. Her hair was in a beautiful ponytail that reached to her neck, and still had those gorgeous turquoise green eyes. After all of those years of not seeing each other, she has changed. Somehow, it made Sonic smile a little. Something was in his mind. Was he finally falling in love with her?

"Come on, Sonic", Sally got off of his back. "The line's moving."

"Oh, yeah, right", Sonic turned to her with a goofy smile. "Catch ya later, Ames", he waved at her.

"Let's go", Sally seethed as she dragged him to the long line.

"Sheesh", Amy looked away.

(Amy's P.O.V.):

_Those two are Sonic the Hedgehog and Sally Acorn. I haven't spoken to Sonic after he and Sally got back together when Sally came here on Earth. I think Sonic's about 24 and Sal's about 23. You know, Sonic used to be a real flirt with some other girls long time ago. But now, he's with her. I don't think that I saw a ring on Sally's finger. So they're probably not engaged yet. Although, I'm not in love with Sonic anymore. He's all in the past, so can't worry about him now. And I could tell from the look in Sally's eyes that she was not happy to see me again. We used to be friends, until she suddenly became a complete bitch. So we don't even talk to each other anymore. Plus, she was a 'princess' back at Knothole, so she still thinks that she is one. I don't think so. The only princess that she is the princess of the bitches. She can kiss my ass for all I give a damn._ (P.O.V. Ends)

Since Amy waited for about 10 minutes to get something to eat, she gave up and left the place. Sonic watched her drive off as he was sitting at a window near the front door. Lucky for him that Sally was in the ladies room so she wouldn't get so jealous. Once Ay was gone, Sonic suddenly felt depressed. He hasn't seen her in so long and he just wanted…to be with her now. But what about Sally? How could Sonic explain to her when he dumps the girl? His mind was twisted with two girls in his mind. Those two girls are Amy Rose and Sally Acorn.

To be continued.


	4. Chapter 4:Another Call in the Night

Ch.4: Another Call in the Night

That night, Amy and Cream were back in their room watching TV. Nothing was on all of the sudden, so all Amy did was flip the channels over and over again. Cream let out a huge yawn. The two girls were bored. Since it was Monday, they've been tired all day.

"You got any homework?" Amy asked, still flipping channels.

"Not today", Cream yawned. "I heard that it was gonna rain again tonight."

"Does it always?" Amy asked sarcastically.

"So what happened today?" the rabbit turned to her best friend.

"I saw Sonic", Amy said calmly.

"Really?" Cream widened her eyes with happiness. "Did you talk to him?"

"Actually, he talked to me", Amy started playing with the remote.

"Was you happy to see him?" Cream asked with a smile.

"Nope", Amy answered straight up. "Plus, Sally was there too. I wasn't happy to see both of them at ALL."

"Oh", Cream lowered her head.

Thunder was heard from outside. Yep, it was gonna be another rainy night. Amy and Cream starred out the window that led to a balcony as rain started pouring lightly. They sighed. Rainy nights can be boring even if you starred at them. At the same time, Amy and Cream yawned. But then, the telephone rang. Amy got up and ran to it, since she was ready for some action.

"Talk to me", Amy answered the phone.

"You're not gonna believe this", Espio said on the phone.

About 15 minutes later, Amy and Cream arrived at the park. The Chaotix and they were looking down at another dead teenage girl. But this time, she was a brunette with long black hair and was half naked. A folding knife was found in the back of her head. Charmy and Cream held their pukes as Amy took the knife out of the girl's head. Espio and Vector looked at the girl worriedly.

"This is the second time so far", the chameleon said.

"Damn", Amy examined the knife angrily. "The guy must be crazy."

"How do you know it's a guy?" Cream asked.

"Remember when that guy killed his wife after she cheated on him?" Amy told so that Cream could remember.

"Oh, yeah", Cream smiled as she finally remembered.

"Now that murder was deadly", Espio nodded. "Not only he stabbed her, but he shot her too."

"I'll call the police department", Vector pulled out his cell phone and walked away from the group a little.

"What time is it?" Amy looked up at Mighty.

"Bout 10:15", Mighty looked at his watch.

"Weird", Cream pondered for a moment. "The last one happened at 10:10. Looks like the guy loves to kill at night."

"Yep", Amy said and took a shot of the girl on her digital camera.

"That mark looks deep", Charmy pointed at a small hole in the back of the girl's head.

"Too deep", Espio observed it through his magnifying glass. "Looks like the knife was stuck in about.. 6 inches deep."

"And it looks like she's been dead for about 30 minutes", Amy examined the pale color of the girl's skin. "Maybe even longer."

"Yikes!" Charmy yelped as Cream wrote down the whole thing on her notebook.

"But why young women though?" Mighty asked in sorrow.

"Don't know for sure", Espio put away his magnifying glass in his left coat pocket. "But we gotta be cautious, considering that we're looking for a bloody murder."

"Hm", Amy nodded with agreement.

(Amy's P.O.V.)

_I've never experienced the same crime that happened in twice a week. This girl looked like the age of 16 or 17, like the other one. We had no idea who killed them and why. Far as I was concern, he liked to kill young women. But I could tell that it was gonna happen again the next night. Still, I had to be patient. Wherever the killer was…He was waiting for us. Just waiting to kill us too._ (P.O.V. ends.)

At a motel far away from the park, a 23 year old yellow haired female walked out the back of the small building. She held a heavy trash bag that was filled with unfinished food, empty beer bottles, and cigarette boxes and used tampons. Carefully, she walked to the trashcan in the alley and put in there. A sudden sound was heard. The woman in her red night gown turned around. Standing a few feet in front of her, was a man who was wearing a large black hoodie without showing his face. From the looks of it, the woman clearly recognized him. She took a huge step away from the trashcan slowly in fear.

"You", she whimpered.

"Where's my money?" the man demanded angrily yet softly.

"Look", the woman began to walk backwards. "I've been trying to pay you, but I need the money for college."

"Really?" the man walked to her with a pistol behind his back.

"Please", the woman begged as she got down on her knees. "I'll do anything for you, anything! Just spare me, please!"

"Hmph", the man stopped.

"_Phew",_ the woman thought with relief.

"I've been waiting for about 2 months now", the man spoke.

"I know, I'm sorry", the woman said with tears. "I'm struggling through a lot, you gotta believe me."

"Uh-huh", the man nodded. "But I doubt that you're focusing on college."

"What?" the woman gasped as she fell back on her bottom.

"I've seen you at a lot of parties lately", the man shook his head. "Plus, you work at a stripper's club to pay your rent. And yet, you don't have anytime to pay me?"

"I-," the woman tried to come up with another excuse.

"So this ends here", the man said in a lowed tone.

"No, seriously", the blonde shook her head. "Can you just find it in your heart to give me another chance?" she looked at him with tears that dropped to the ground along with the falling rain.

"Well…" the man pondered for a moment.

"Yeah?" the blonde human nodded with joy.

"Nope", the man pulled out his gun and shot her in the chest.

"Damn-," the woman collapsed to the ground. "-you…" she finished her sentence with her last breath.

"Love you, too", the man said sarcastically and turned around.

By the sound of dogs barking from inside of the motel, he took off. He quickly hid the gun in his pocket and panted. The rain started pouring down faster. No one bothered to look out of the window, nor did anyone hear the gunshot. As the dogs continued to bark loudly as blood started dripping out the girl's chest slowly. Her blue eye color began to fade. A lightning stroke flashed the sky along with a huge thunder roar. The young woman was now dead…

To be continued.


	5. Chapter 5:Examining the Clues

Ch.5: Examining the Clues

"We interrupt this broadcast for an immediate news update", Scarlet Garcia said on the television that half of the city was watching. "Just last night, two dead bodies have been found. The first one was found about 10:15 at the park. The second one was found outside of 'Starlight Motel' minutes later."

"What?!" Vector jumped out of his seat. "Two!?"

"That guy is doing a lot of work", Espio said and took a sip of his coffee.

"However, this case isn't new", Scarlet continued. "In fact, the death of the two girls last night could be related to the first woman that got murdered a couple of nights back. The first one was a blonde named Cindy Tyler, the second was a brunette named Jackie Michaels, and the third was another blonde named Alexandra Fisher. Cindy and Jackie were both high school students at the age of 17 and were planning to graduate from Station Square High. In fact, they were best friends since elementary. As for the third victim, she was 23 years old, unemployed, and did try to go to college out of town. So far, the killer only strikes young women in the night. The police has confirmed that when the sun sets, everyone, including women must go to a safe place for the nigh and keep everything locked. I'm Scarlet Garcia, and that's the news update for today."

"No", Amy shook her head slowly. "Another girl was killed while we were at the park last night? Man, this guy knows how to kill quick."

Suddenly, her phone rang. She ran to it and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Did you see the news?" Mighty asked, panicking.

"Yeah, I did", Amy nodded. "This is getting serious."

"Hey, we need those clues that you kept for us. Bring them to the police department down at 21st and Little Street", Mighty ordered.

"Got it", Amy nodded and hung up.

20 minutes later, Amy parked her car in the parking lot behind the police department. She grabbed a small bag with the bloody knives in plastic bags, got out of her car, and locked it. Then she rushed inside. A short time later, she made it to a small room. The Chaotix and a couple of cops were sitting at a small table. Amy walked in and took a seat next to Charmy.

"Morning, Amy", the bumble bee waved.

"Hey", Amy waved back.

"Did you bring the clues?" Espio asked who was sitting across from her.

"Yep", the pink hedgehog emptied her bag.

"Hmm", a brunette cop took the chef's knife while a blonde cop took the other bloody knife. "Strange…"

"Is there a connection here?" Mighty asked worriedly.

"Possibly", the chubby brunette cop answered. "Whoever the guy is, he sure likes to kill beautiful women. At first, he used knives."

"What do you mean at first?" Vector asked.

"The third one that got killed was shot in the chest", the blonde cop explained. "Plus, the bullet looked pretty deep inside of her."

Amy and the Chaotix gasped. Things were getting too serious! First knives, now a gun?! Even though they haven't caught the suspect, they were able to get his tools. Still, they wanted to find the guy fast. But Amy could tell that another woman was going to die tonight. Still, she didn't want to think about it too soon.

"We'll examine the fingerprints and hopefully get some data sometime", the brunette cop stood up. "Thank you for your time."

"No problem", Vector shook his hand.

After the meeting, Amy and the Chaotix met outside of the police office. Charmy and Vector went to a vending machine while the others stood at their vehicles. Amy had her head down and arms folded as Espio and Mighty starred at her.

"Hey", Espio finally spoke.

"Hm?" Amy looked up at him.

"Keep your head up."

"What do you mean?"

"I know that you're upset", Mighty spoke. "But we can't give up now."

"It's not that", Amy said. "It's the fact that this guy is still on the loose. He could kill again when we don't even know it. I can feel it…"

"True, true", Might pondered.

"But he has only killed three women so far", the chameleon spoke again. "One on the first night, two on the second. Heck, I'll be damned if he killed three tonight."

"Don't say that", Amy gasped.

"And not to mention this guy has a variety of weapons", the armadillo nodded. "First, he used a chef's knife to kill Cindy", he recalled the first victim.

"She was stabbed 10 times just 10 minutes before we made it to the crime scene", Espio reminded him.

"Yeah", Mighty nodded again. "As for Jackie, she was stabbed once in a good aim at the back of her head. It was 6 inches deep, right?"

"Yep", Espio nodded. "And last, Alexandria. She was shot in the chest. They said that the bullet looked like it was shot too close to her."

Amy turned to Vector who was shaking the vending machine angrily. Apparently, he couldn't get his favorite pop, Dr. Pepper. He yelled and cursed at the machine as Charmy started cracking up. A smile came up on Amy's face. Just to see something funny would always cheer her up from sad thoughts. However, she still had to stay focused.

"So what are we going to do?" Mighty asked Espio.

"I say we roll through the streets tonight", Espio suggested. "So that way, we'll be able to catch him before he even knows it."

"Good idea", Amy turned to him.

"Meet cha at 9 o'clock tonight", Espio looked at his watch that read 9:55. "At the front of the hotel."

"You driving?" Amy asked nicely.

"Actually, you are", Espio pointed at her.

"WHAT!?" Amy yelled at his face angrily. "WHY MY CAR!? THE GAS PRICES ARE TOO HIGH!"

"Calm down, I'll pay you after the ride", Espio wiped the saliva off of his face. "Besides, we won't be long."

Amy sighed as she lay back on her car. Though she was nice enough to do her friends' favors, this one seemed too demanding. At least it would be better than to travel in Vector's old dusty 1976 green Honda Accord. Too bad they couldn't afford a new car or rent a new one. Because then, she wouldn't have to waste her new car on them. Since there was no other choice, it was the only way to stand together to face the villain. Hopefully, there would be enough room for everyone, including Cream.

"Ok", Amy nodded.

"Good", Espio crossed his arms.

"See ya", Amy got in her car.

"Later", Espio and Mighty said in union.

As Vector finally got his drink, Charmy got up after his hard laughing hour. They turned around and saw Amy driving off to the streets. Both of them blinked twice. Where in the world could she be going?

TO BE CONTINUED.


	6. Chapter 6:Old Friends, New Changes

Ch.6: Old Friends, New Changes

Later on, Amy was shopping for a new outfit. All she bought was a short black tanktop and silky jeans. After she paid the price, she went out of the mall and went to her car. As she unlocked her door, a gasp was heard from behind. She looked back and saw a white bat that was a little bit taller than her that wore a short purple dress. Amy gasped happily.

"Rouge!"

"Amy!" the white bat exclaimed cheerfully.

"Oh, my god! Oh, my god! Oh, my god!" the two girls hugged each other and hopped up and down.

"Wow, look at you", Amy examined Rouge's new style.

"Yeah, you too", Rouge winked. "Looks like you're still doing your diet exercise, huh?"

"Pretty much", the pink hedgehog nodded. "So what's been going on?"

"Well", Rouge held up her right ring finger. "Guess who's getting married someday!" she cheered as her diamond ring glowed.

"No way", Amy gasped. "So Knuckles finally proposed to you, huh?"

"Yeah", the white bat rubbed the back of her head. "After a few years of dating, he finally did it."

"So, when's the wedding?" Amy asked.

"Next year in January", Rouge answered.

"Why during the winter?" the pink hedgehog asked curiously.

"For New Year's day", Rouge smiled.

"Oh", Amy blinked. "Where is Knuckles anyway?"

"Yeah, I'm here", a deep manly voice said out of nowhere.

A red echidna jumped out of the back of Amy's car as if he was a magician. He wore a white jersey, dark blue sagging jeans, and big red sneakers. He was also wearing a blue jean cap backwards and gold jewelry all over his body. Wait, what the heck? Why was he dressing up like that all of the sudden? Amy blinked twice as Rouge giggled.

"Hey, Knuxie", she cooed.

"Sup babe", Knuckles walked to Rouge and hugged her tightly.

"Ok, ok, too tight", Rouge giggled, but still couldn't breathe.

"Knuckles?" Amy asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Amy?" the red echidna looked at her. "Oh, snap, what it do, shortie?" he gave her a huge hug also.

"I'm fine-too tight!" Amy squealed.

"My bad, my bad", Knuckles let go of her quickly and Amy panted. "So what's been cracking lacking?"

"Huh?" Amy looked at him oddly. "What the heck happened to you?"

"Ah, I just decided to start a new life, know I'm saying", Knuckles explained with his gangster accent. "The M.E. is safe at my place where I be chilling with my baby, and I've been cracking some bitches that hate my game."

"Ok…"

"Ain't he sweet?" Rouge asked with a smile.

"Yeah…" Amy replied with a sweatdrop. _"Whoa, he's changed seriously. Seriously weird", _she thought to herself.

"Well, we gotta go", Rouge waved.

"Yeah, we gotta go home and chill at our crib", Knuckles added. "By da way, whatcha been doing lately?"

"Just doing some detective work", Amy answered.

"Really?" Rouge asked in shock.

"Fashizzle?" the echidna blinked.

"Yeah", Amy nodded. "You better keep an eye on your 'shortie'", she explained to Knuckles. "There's a crook that strikes young women at night."

"Ah, don't worry", Knuckles wrapped an arm around Rouge's shoulder. "If he tries to take my girl, I'll jack up his bitch-ass."

"Good to know", the pink girl sweatdropped.

"Welp, see ya later", Rouge said as she and Knuckles walked off.

"Peace!" Knuckles hollered out to Amy. "Holla at your boy!"

Amy just stood there with an odd look on her face. Is Rouge really going to marry him? In fact, what made him change like that? Although, he does listen to hip-hop, no one expected that he would go too far. So that red echidna has changed. Changing from the guardian of the Master Emerald, to some wanna be gangster. Amy shook her head, got in her car and left. While she was driving, she thought about seeing her other friends. It has been a very long time since she has spoken to most of her friends. Since she had some free time, why not go visit some friends? She began to think who she wanted to visit first…

The first stop was at the Mystic Ruins. After Amy got off of the train, she went to a large brick house. The house belonged to Tails, an orange fox that was good with mechanics. He was a little bit younger than her, but quite smarter than her. However, she hasn't heard from him since he finally had a girlfriend. Wonder how he is now. Is he still with his first and ever girlfriend? Amy got up to the front door and knocked on it. Then she rang the doorbell.

"Yeah, what do you want?" Tails opened the door and was seen in straight Gothic clothes.

"Tails?" Amy rubbed her eyes. "Is that you?"

"Actually, I'm his evil twin, Miles", the fox replied.

"What happened to you?" Amy asked worriedly. "I thought you hate that name Miles."

"Oh, nothing", the fox brushed his long black painted bangs out of his face.

"Well…" Amy observed the inside of the house.

She could barely see the living room behind Tails. There were gothic posters all over the walls, death colt chains decorated on the ceilings, and the radio was playing some loud Goth music which Amy could hear it clearly. She was shocked. What the hell happened to the kid? Maybe he's starting to discover peer pressure, worst of all, depression. Long ago, Tails was a sweet kid, but now, he's rude and a huge loner. Amy shook her head slowly. The poor kid has changed too. Maybe worse than Knuckles!

"Hey", Amy pulled 'Miles' out of his house.

"Aah, my eyes!" Miles screamed as he covered his eyes from the bright morning sun.

"Oh, open your eyes", Amy removed his hands gently.

"Hmm", Miles opened his blue eyes slowly.

"What happened to you?" Amy repeated the question. "I mean, what changed you this way?"

"Well", Miles sat down on the ground. "Have you ever thought that your life was so perfect at first, and then all of the sudden it flips upside down?" he asked sadly.

"Probably", Amy rolled her eyes.

"Well", Miles sighed slowly. "Cosmo dumped me."

"Aww", Amy cooed with sorrow. "When did that happened?"

"'Bout two weeks ago", Miles then said.

"Dang", Amy rub the back of her head.

"I know", Miles meddled with his bangs. "I should've killed myself in front of her when she told me that."

"Don't say that", Amy sat down in front of him. "Maybe she wasn't ready."

"Dude, we've been going out since we were 13. Now, we're about 16", the fox frowned.

"Hey, now", Amy got up and sat next to him. "I know you've been going out with her for a while, but you've got to cheer up. I mean, you're not the only one going through this. Plus, I guess you were too young to have a girlfriend back then. So maybe she wasn't ready yet."

"Sure", Miles rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"I'm serious", the pink hedgehog wrapped her right arm around his shoulder. "I know how you feel. I mean, I felt that way when Sonic went on with Sally."

"Really?" Miles finally looked at his old friend.

"Yep", Amy nodded. "Sure I cried for a few days, but I was able to get up and move on. Life is short, I know. But if you continue living like this, then your life will be even shorter than now. So yeah, she dumped you, but it's ok. There are plenty of young girls at your age that are single", she explained to him.

"Wow, really?" Miles asked happily.

"Well, Cream's available", Amy winked.

"Sweet!" Miles hopped to his feet cheerfully.

"Hold on there, cowboy", Amy got up to her feet. "You can't just hurry up and ask her out. You just gotta be patient. Being single's not easy. However, it'll be good for you to get yourself back together and spend some time with some friends."

Tails nodded. He was finally free from his sadness. Even though he took the break up seriously, he could still start over. But for now, he had to get himself back together. He removed the eyeliner off of his eyes, squeezed the black paint out of his long orange bangs, and then smiled. Amy was such a life saver to him. The pink hedgehog smiled too. Then Tails gave her a big loveable hug.

"Thanks, Amy."

"No problem", Amy nodded as she hugged him back.

Her next stop was in the middle of the Mystic Ruins' jungle. She was about to visit Cosmo, who lived at a tree house near the waterfall. The plant-like girl was looking out of the window sadly. She was thinking about Tails. True that weren't together anymore, she still missed him. A knock was heard from the trap door. She looked back and then opened it.

"Hey, Cosmo", Amy climbed in with a smile.

"Oh, hi, Amy", Cosmo smiled back. "What brings you up here?" she helped Amy in and closed the door.

"Well…" Amy began.

After she told the whole story when she saw Tails, Cosmo was surprised. She had no idea that he would've taken their break up too far. It was such a shame to let him go like that. Surely enough, she was upset about him. Her ex-boyfriend living in depression. However, it was a good thing that Amy was able to talk some sense to him. That part of the story kind of made Cosmo feel better. Although, she did feel sorry for him, most of all, herself.

"Wow", Cosmo shook her head. "I never thought that he would've taken our break up so seriously."

"Well, he's just a kid", Amy sat up. "So are you. But at least I calmed him down."

"Yeah", the plant-like alien nodded.

"Say, what happened to Silver and Blaze?" Amy wondered.

"They're gone on a vacation", Cosmo searched through her junky boxes. "They said that they're gonna be at Mexico for a while. I think for about 3 weeks from now", she pulled out a small picture out of the box and handed it to Amy.

"Huh", Amy observed it. "They're so cute", she commented the smiles on the white hedgehog's and the purple cat's faces.

"Yeah", Cosmo kicked back on a wall. "How's the detective work?"

"Good and suspicious", Amy replied. "There's a killer on the loose at Station Square. Turns out that he attacks young women at night."

"Oh, my", Cosmo gasped.

"Don't worry", Amy said with some confidence. "Just stay here and be safe. I'll take him down."

"I'm sure you will", Cosmo nodded.

"Well, I'll see you later", Amy waved as she opened the door.

"See ya", Cosmo waved back with a cheerful smile.

After Amy left the Mystic Ruins, she got out of the train station. As she was reaching to the front door…

To Be Continued...


	7. Chapter 7:Shadow

Ch.7: Shadow

All of the sudden, a thief came by and snatched Amy's red purse out of her right hand. He laughed as he dashed out of the building. Amy yelled and then followed him. Both of them were running out to the middle of the street. Luckily, they were able to avoid the passing cars. Before the thief could've gone into a drug store, a stranger punched him right in the face. The thief fell back with a cry of pain. Amy stopped running and panted with exhaustion.

"Dude", the thief sat up. "What was that for?"

"For stealing a young lady's purse", the stranger took the purse away from him. "Be gone, or I'll give you a pain of hell."

"I'm outta here", the thief got up and ran away cowardly.

"Thanks", Amy walked up to the stranger.

"Here", the stranger held up her purse.

But all of the sudden, Amy observed her hero. It was a black hedgehog that was a couple of inches taller than her with red streaks all over his body that matched his eyes. He wore a red jacket, a white t-shirt, and black jeans and red and white shoes. He somehow looked like Sonic, but the difference was his fur color and the curled up quills.

"_Gosh, he's gorgeous",_ Amy thought with a blush.

"Um…" the black hedgehog sweatdropped. "Your purse."

"Oh, yeah, thanks", Amy woke up and took the purse. "Man, I'm glad that you were able to save my money."

"No problem", the other hedgehog winked.

"So um…What's your name?" Amy asked shyly.

"Shadow", the black hedgehog introduced himself. "Shadow the Hedgehog. And yours?"

"Am…Am…Am…" the pink hedgehog tried to speak but was too shy by his charming looks.

"Am-Am-Am?" Shadow giggled.

"No, its Amy", the pink girl finally spoke clearly. "Amy Rose."

"Rose, huh?" Shadow crossed his arms with a smile. "That's a cute name. It fits your personality."

"Yeah", Amy rubbed the back of her head.

"Well, it was nice meeting ya", Shadow turned around.

"Hold on", Amy called out. "Since you saved my purse, why don't I take you out to breakfast?" she suggested nicely.

"Really?" Shadow looked back at the girl. "Well, I don't want to waste your money or anything…" he explained shyly.

"No, no, I insist", Amy took his left hand. "So where do you want to go?"

"Hmm…" Shadow pondered for a moment.

Minutes later, the two were at a local Waffle House restaurant. Both of them sat at a table further away from everyone. The table was right next to a window. As the hedgehogs waited for their meal, they sat quietly. Until Amy finally took a breath.

"So um…Where you from?" she asked.

"Well", Shadow looked at her shyly. "I'm from Los Angeles."

"Cool", Amy gasped happily. "I've always want to go there."

"Maybe I should give you a tour around there sometime", Shadow suggested with a smile.

"Yeah, that'll be great", Amy rubbed the back of her head shyly again. "So when did you move here?"

"Bout a couple of weeks ago", the black hedgehog replied. "It's pretty cool here."

"Uh-huh", Amy nodded.

"So um, whatcha do for a living?" Shadow finally asked a question of his own.

"I'm a detective", Amy kicked back.

"Detective, huh?" Shadow nodded. "Sounds kinda dangerous."

"Yeah, but I'm used to it", Amy smiled. "I've been a detective for as long as I can remember…"

"Huh", Shadow nodded slowly. "So are you on a case right about now?"

"Yeah, I am", Amy sat up straightly. "In fact, I'm trying to find the guy whose been killing innocent women at night."

"Really?" Shadow asked in shock. "How many did he kill so far?"

"Bout three", Amy answered. "But me and my friends are going to check out the streets tonight just in case we find him."

"Ohh", Shadow nodded again. "Better be careful while you're doing your case. Cause, something will turn your world upside down."

"Yeah, whatever", Amy giggled. "Anyway, what do you do for a living?"

"Well, I work as an engineer", Shadow replied. "I'm trying to save up so I can go to college."

"Nice", Amy smiled. _"Man, he's cuter than Sonic",_ she thought thoroughly.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Sally were walking down a half crowded sidewalk. Sally had a few shopping bags in her hands. Apparently, she and her boyfriend just left a clothing department store. The cost of all of those clothes was about $200! Sonic wasn't happy about it, because he had to spend most of his money for her. So he didn't have his usual smile on his face. He only wished that Sally didn't have to spend so much of his money for skippy clothes every once in a while. He was actually getting tired of shopping with her.

"Oh, look", Sally pointed up at a Waffle House restaurant up ahead of them. "Let's go get some waffles."

"Why can't we make some at home?" Sonic asked.

"Because I don't feel like it", Sally Acorn replied as she dragged him to the food joint. "Now, let's go."

After they walked in, a long line was ahead of them. Well, of course, since it was breakfast time. Also, the employees were serving the customers very slowly. So no wonder there was a long line! Sally yawned like a bear as she gave her bags to Sonic. He looked at them oddly.

"Find a table for us", the Acorn princess ordered. "I'm gonna freshen up in the ladies' room."

"You always have to freshen up in the ladies room", Sonic murmured.

"What was that?" Sally snapped at him.

"Nothing", Sonic hiccupped. "Just um, enjoy the ladies room", he smiled nervously and started looking for a place to sit.

"I thought so", Sally said and walked into the women's bathroom.

Sonic walked around cautiously to find a table for him and Sal. But he wished that she wouldn't have to excuse herself so much. In fact, she's been doing that for about 2 months! However, it was starting to get on his nerves. So far, all of the tables were reserved. But then, he observed a table at the far end of the room. At that table, he saw Amy talking to a mysterious black hedgehog. Sonic blinked curiously. Then he decided to walk to the table to say hi to them.

"No way", Shadow laughed after hearing a funny story from Amy.

"Seriously, it happened", Amy explained.

"Hey, there, Ames", Sonic came up to her with a smile.

"Oh, Sonic, hey", Amy turned to him nervously. "What brings you here?"

"Just thought of saying hi to ya, that's all", the blue hedgehog said. "New friend?" he turned to the black hedgehog.

"Yeah", Amy said. "Sonic, that's Shadow. Shadow, that's Sonic", she introduced them to each other.

"Hey", Sonic offered a hand for a shake.

"Nice to meet you", Shadow shook his hand slowly.

"Went shopping, huh?" Amy looked at the shopping bags in both of Sonic's hands.

"Well, I didn't want to", Sonic answered bashfully. "But Sally just dragged me in the store and made me pay most of my money on her dumb clothes."

"How much were they?" Amy asked.

"Shoot, like about $200", Sonic rolled his eyes.

"Whoa", Shadow widened his eyes in shock.

"Oww, what the hell?!" Sonic yelled as one of his quills was being pulled back by Sally.

"What are you doing here?" Sally seethed angrily. "I thought I told you to find us a seat."

"All of the tables are full", Sonic was able to get away from her aggressive hand.

"And what did I say about talking to HER?" Sally pointed at Amy rudely.

"What?" Amy stood up as if she was ready to fight her.

"Hey, hey", Shadow stopped her before she could've made a surprising charge. "Let's not do this in public."

"I was just saying hi to her, gosh", Sonic complained. "Geez, can't I just say hi to my old friends once in a while?"

"Well, not her", Sally tapped her foot. "Besides, I only told you to find us a table. And if you did, then we wouldn't be having this problem now, would we?"

"I got an idea", Sonic scoffed as he angrily dropped Sally's bags.

"Hey!" Sally shouted at him furiously.

"Go find your own damn table", Sonic stomped away from her.

"Hey, Sonic, wait", Sally called out for him as she grabbed her bags and then went after him.

"…Bitch", Amy growled as she calmly sat back down.

"Don't worry about her", Shadow advised her. "I know that she's mean, but you can't just let her get you upset so easily."

"I just don't get it", Amy sat her chin on the table. "Long time ago, she was one of my best friends, but now she's being a bitch."

"I know, I know", Shadow patted her on the head nicely. "That's just how people are. You just gotta deal with that."

"Yeah, I know", Amy turned her head to the side sadly. Both her and Shadow released a sigh.

Outside, Sonic was passing by a few people with his head down and his arms crossed. He was very angry with Sally. How could she have said that about Amy? Why did she have to be so mean? And since when did she act like that in public? Right now, he needed some time to think. Was he going to tell her that he doesn't love her anymore? Or was he about to go back to Amy and make sure that she wouldn't get too upset? His mind began to swirl again. He was torned between the two.

"Sonic, Sonic!" Sally called out for him as she was able to catch up with him. "Hey", she walked next to him. "What's wrong?"

"What do you think?" Sonic asked sarcastically, without looking at her.

"Hey", Sally took his left arm. "Come on, talk to me. What's the matter?" she asked in sorrow all of the sudden.

"You, of course", Sonic took his arm away from Sally. "Why did you have to be so mean to Amy? And in front of her new friend too. He probably thinks that you're a bitch."

"So?" Sally rolled her eyes.

"Look, I was only saying hi to her, that IS IT", Sonic explained impatiently.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry", Sally took his arm again. "I just don't want you going off cheating on me with her."

"Who said that I was going to cheat?" Sonic spoke rudely to her. "We're just FRIENDS. F-R-I-E-N-D-S. Get it right."

"Ugh", Sally clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes.

Sonic could tell that she didn't want to apologize to Amy. Even if they weren't friends, he guessed that Sally wouldn't let him talk to her anyhow. Same with some others girls too. Still, he wished that he could tell her about his feelings. But he couldn't, because he didn't want to upset her. Plus, he promised her that he would buy her wedding ring one day. So far, he didn't have enough money at the time. Even if he did, Sal would probably make him spend it all on the things that 'she' wants, not what 'he' wants. There was no other choice for him. He just had to stick with her, because she's all for him now.

"Forget it", the blue hedgehog said. "Let's just go home."

"Ok", Sally rested her head on his left shoulder.

'Sigh', Sonic looked up at the sky. _"I hope that Amy's not mad at me. And yet, I hope that we can spend some time together. I miss her",_ he thought desperately.

To be continued.


	8. Chapter 8:Night Ride

Ch.8: Night Ride

The telephone rang again at Amy's room that night. Strange thing was that the detective was asleep on the couch. What in the world? She never sleeps while the phone rings. Cream was surprised. Since she was at the kitchen finishing her math homework and that she was near the phone, she got up and went to it. She answered as Amy began to snore.

"Hello?"

"Cream?" Charmy gasped shyly.

"Hey, Charmy, what's up?" Cream asked with a smile.

"Um…Um…Here, you say it", Charmy whispered.

"Oh, my gosh, Charmy", Espio sighed as he took over the phone. "Where's Amy?"

"For the first time, she's asleep", the rabbit looked back at the snoring hedgehog.

"Tell her to wake up", Espio ordered. "We're gonna be at the front of the hotel in a few minutes."

"Ok", Cream nodded and then hung up.

She walked over to Amy. Boy, she does snore loud. Maybe even louder than a grown man! Cream politely shook Amy a few times to wake her up. Then she snapped her fingers as hard as she could. Finally, Amy woke up from her nap. She yawned.

"What's up?"

"Espio just called", Cream answered. "He said that he and the others are gonna be here any minute."

"Oh, yeah, that's right", Amy recalled the plan. "Come on, let's get ready", she went to her coat rack to get her red jacket.

About 5 minutes later, Amy and Cream were outside of the car. They were waiting for their comrades to come by and to get the search over with. The girls looked at their watches impatiently. It was 9:05 p.m. Sooner after they looked at their watches, the Chaotix walked up to them. Amy got off of her car and looked at them.

"What took ya so long?"

"Don't ask", Mighty shook his head.

"So how are we going to travel in that thing?" Vector pointed at Amy's cool car.

"The thing is my car", Amy gave him a devilish look.

"I got it", Charmy had an idea. "How about I sit in the front, the rest of you guys sit in the back, and Vector sits in the trunk!"

"I like it all, except why do I have to sit in the trunk?" Vector snarled.

"Because you've gained weight about last week", Espio sweatdropped. "And you would take the whole room in the backseat."

"Don't worry", Amy smiled. "My trunk is totally empty."

"It better be", Vector murmured as he went to the back of the car.

"However, Cream's the only one that sits in the front with me", Amy explained briefly. "No one else, but her."

"Very well then", Espio nodded. "Then the three of us will sit in the back."

"Let's get in", Mighty said happily. "I wanna see the inside of this baby."

Then Amy unlocked all of the doors. She got in the front with Cream, Espio, Charmy, and Mighty sat in the back, and poor Vector got in the trunk. Lucky for him, it was pretty wide for him so he could stretch a little. After he got in, he closed the door carefully. The rest of the gang closed the other doors. Then they buckled up for safety. Cream got her notebook and pen ready for action. It seems that she never forgets her materials. Amy smiled gladly.

"Ready?" the hedgehog looked back at her friends from the rear mirror.

"Yep", Mighty and Espio nodded in union.

"Can we listen to some music?" Charmy asked nicely.

"What do you want to listen to?" Amy turned on the radio.

"I wanna listen to some hip-hop", the bee raised his hand.

"No, let's listen to some country", Mighty disagreed.

"I don't care, let's just get going", Espio said calmly though impatiently.

"Ok", Amy pressed a button and the radio started playing some rock and roll music.

"Aw, man", Charmy and Mighty whined.

"_This is so not my night",_ Vector thought with rage. _"Next time, they're all gonna sit in the trunk while I'll drive!"_

Amy drove off into the streets. Everything was quiet, too quiet. Just too quiet as a graveyard. There was no one in the empty streets. No cars, no pedestrians, and the criminal was never to be found. The time read 10:00 on the clock in Amy's car. She was feeling tired as well as the others. Vector was already asleep in the trunk after they started driving. Cream and Charmy were in a deep sleep as Mighty struggled to keep his eyes open. As for Amy and Espio, they were still wide awake. They've been looking for the guy for about an hour now! However, they couldn't give up just yet. All of the sudden, something came up in Amy's mind.

"You still own me money for my gas."

"Here", Espio gave her a $50 bill. "And just to let you know, that came out of our paycheck."

"I'll give you the change when I see you again", Amy put the money in her pocket. "Heck, where is that guy?"

"Maybe he's scared of coming out in the dark with us", Espio joked.

"That maybe true", Amy nodded. "How long will this take?"

"Just give it a while", Espio looked at the clock that read 10:02.

Now it was 11:30. Espio was fast asleep as Amy struggled to stay focus on the road. So far, they still couldn't find the bad guy. She felt like giving up, but she was cautious enough to know that the killer would strike anytime if she leaves. She took a deep breath and continued driving. When it was midnight, she finally gave up. There was no way that Amy would be able to find the guy when she was feeling drowsy. Plus, Cream has school tomorrow. So finally, she took the car back, said goodbye to the Chaotix, and she and Cream went to their room for the night.

To be continued...


	9. Chapter 9:At the Park

Ch.9: At the Park

"Amy, wake up", Cream shook Amy wildly the next early morning.

"What, what?" Amy sat up on the couch cautiously. "Is there a fire?"

"No, something else", Cream shook her head. "I just heard the news, and…The killer didn't strike last night!" she exclaimed happily.

"Really?" Amy said calmly. "Well, I guess we scared him off, eh?"

"Maybe", Cream said as she began to gather up her things. "I'll see you later", she waved and then left the room.

"See ya", Amy yawned and went back to sleep.

A couple of hours later, Amy decided to get up from her beauty sleep. Gosh, if only she didn't have to drag Cream out for a long night drive. Who knows, she could fall asleep in class! But still, she wouldn't fall asleep in class, because she loves to learn new things. So Amy had to wait until Cream gets home to know what happened to her. About Amy anyway, she had a few bowls of Captain Crunch cereal, read the newspaper, and then sat in the living room again.

"I'm bored", she said to herself. "Shoot, I should probably go to the park today. I mean, there's no emergency or anything", she said as she rolled her shoulders.

After she changed into her black and white jogging suit, she head out of her room. Since the park wasn't far away, she decided to take a long walk there. Once she got there, she saw Rouge and Knuckles walking together as they held each other's hands. With no other choice, she ran up to catch up with them.

"Hey", she called out happily.

"Oh, hi, Amy", Rouge looked back with a smile.

"Yo, wazzup, Ames", Knuckles looked back also.

"What brings ya here?" Amy asked as she started walking next to Rouge.

"Just out for a stroll", Rouge sighed. "What about you?"

"I got nothing to do today", Amy explained. "So I thought a walk in the park would be alright."

"Then let's walk together", Rouge suggested kindly.

"Yeah", Knuckles nodded. "Let's talk the talk and walk the walk."

An hour has passed when the three were together. Of course they walked, but they also shared some hilarious stories about their past when they haven't spoken to each other. However, Amy was getting annoyed by Knuckles' new style. An echidna gangsta? Who ever thought of that? Well, him, of course. But Rouge doesn't mind his new change. She actually found it cute and fun of him. A long time ago, he used to be short-tempered, serious, and was such a party-pooper. At least, Rouge was glad that Knuckles changed, since she and him became closer and all.

"…So then I was like 'Homie, you got no money in da bank. Who you fuckin' wit?' " Knuckles was sharing another story.

"Uh-huh", Amy sweatdropped. "Huh?" she suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Rouge asked as she and Knuckles stopped also.

"You high or something?" Knuckles asked.

"No", Amy scowled. "That", she pointed ahead.

At a bench next to the water fountain, they all saw a black hedgehog. He was just sitting there reading a book to himself. Amy began to have hearts in her eyes. It was actually Shadow. Rouge and Knuckles giggled. They could tell that she was in love. Shoot, when was the last time they seen her in love like that? Hard to believe that hasn't had a boyfriend in quite sometime. Matter of fact, she usually gets blind dates and the relationships lasts for about a day! But this time, Amy has found the man of her dreams…

"You like him, don't cha?" Knuckles whispered in Amy's ear slyly.

"Hey", Amy pushed Knuckles off of her slightly. "I mean, yeah, I do", she looked back at the quiet Shadow.

"Go say hi to him", Rouge suggested.

"Well, I already know him. We just met yesterday", Amy fiddled with her fingers shyly.

"You did?" the couple asked surprisingly.

"Yeah", Amy kicked an invisible rock.

Rouge and Knuckles looked at each other. Then they nodded in union. Uh-oh, looks like they have a plan. Even Amy could see it when they gave her an evil look in their eyes. She was about to run away, but the two grabbed her and helped her walk forward.

"Come on, grandma", Knuckles laughed. "You gotta talk to dat dude."

As they were getting close to Shadow, he looked up and to the side. He noticed Amy was between a red echidna and a white bat. The pink hedgehog gulped with a huge blush on her face. He was actually looking at her! It's been a long time since she ever talked to cute boys. So it seemed that things were about to get difficult for her.

"He's staring at me", Amy whispered loudly.

"So?" the couple asked sarcastically.

"Amy?" Shadow blinked twice.

"Um…" Amy finally reached up to him. "Hi."

"Out for a stroll, huh?" Shadow asked with a smile.

"Yeah", Amy fiddled with her hair. "Oh, by the way, these are my friends", she greeted. "Knuckles, Rouge, meet Shadow."

"Hi", Rouge waved.

"Hey", Shadow waved back.

"Wassup homeboy!" Knuckles exclaimed happily as he pulled Shadow off of his seat and did an awkward handshake.

"Ok, hi", Shadow successfully got free.

"You have to forgive him", Amy whispered in his ear. "Apparently, he's gone 'gangsta', if you know what I mean."

"Oh", Shadow sweatdropped.

"So what kind of music you listen to homeboy?" Knuckles asked. "Who's your favorite artist?"

"Well, just to let you know, I don't listen to hip-hop", Shadow rubbed the back of his head.

"You don't?" Knuckles asked slowly.

"Why do you think that I listen to rap anyway?" Shadow asked back.

"Well…That I don't wanna explain to ya", Knux said nervously. "Cause, it's because of um…"

"Nevermind", Shadow figured out what Knuckles was going to say.

"Yeah, me and him listen to hip-hop", Rouge explained cheerfully. "But I kinda listen to some R&B and oldskool too."

"Yeah, she's an O.G.", Knuckles wrapped his arms around her.

"That's nice", Shadow raised an eyebrow. "But I pretty much listen to some punk, alternative, classic rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and rock&roll. And I have alot of favorite artists"

"I just listen to whatever sounds good", Amy spoke.

"So you listen to some gangsta music?" Knuckles turned to her.

"I don't think so", Amy sweatdropped.

"Oh, ok", Knuckles said kindly.

"I guess I'll go home now", Rouge yawned a little.

"Aight", Knux nodded. "Catch ya later, homeboy", he waved as he and Rouge left the two hedgehogs alone.

Amy and Shadow watched them walk off. Apparently, Amy felt embarrassed about her gangsta-like friend. Plus, it was surprising that Shadow doesn't listen to some hip-hop, because of his fur color. So that's probably why Knux couldn't explain it to him. He figured that he would've got offended by it. And as for Amy, she felt very shy all of the sudden. She was now alone with a cute guy. She tried to think of something to say, but she was too nervous to speak.

"So what are you gonna do now?" Shadow asked.

"Um", Amy looked at him. "I dunno."

"You wanna read with me?"

"Sure, what's it about?"

"Just about the ancient times in B.C. where there was lots of war taken place", Shadow explained.

"Ok", Amy sat next to him.

"Shoot, where was I?" Shadow started searching for the page that he left off as Amy looked at the book.

Later on, the two were asleep on the bench. Amy's head was on Shadow's shoulder while his head was resting on her's. Sonic arrived the park on foot. Bad news was that Sally was with him. He did try to go alone, but she kept begging him to take her with him. So apparently, he had to stick with his 'princess'. Both of them were wearing sweats. They began to walk down the circular track.

"Ah, what a nice day", Sally commented about the clear blue sky.

"Yeah", Sonic looked away.

"Now what's wrong?" the girlfriend asked rudely.

"Nothing, just thinking to myself", Sonic said kindly. "Relax."

Sally shrugged. As the two were halfway done with their walk, they spotted Amy and Shadow sitting at the park bench together. Sonic was the first one to stop. Deep inside of him, he was feeling heartbroken. Were those two going out so early? Although, he couldn't really see what they were doing. Hopefully, they weren't kissing each other. Sally squinted her eyes to take a good look at the hedgehogs. There she goes again, getting paranoid about 'her'. But Sonic didn't turned to her to notice. His main focus was on Amy.

"Hey, um…" Sally spoke nicely. "Let's go the other way", she took his right hand.

"…"

"Sonic."

"Huh?"

"Would you stop staring at her and come on?"

"Fine, fine", Sonic sighed in defeat and turned around.

"Bout time", Sally turned around and they walked off.

As they began to walk to the other way, Sally took Sonic's arm and rested her head on his shoulder. He didn't like it. Now he wished that he could go back in time to be with Amy. She was a sweet girl with a little bad temper, but Sally's much worse! However, she didn't act like that a long time ago. But right now, she's being an easily jealous girl. In real life, Sally was his girlfriend, but in his mind, Amy was his. Dilemma was circling the three of them. Even though Sonic's with Sally, he loves Amy more. Although, he has no idea what to do. The detective's with Shadow now maybe. So was possible too late for him. Still, Sally didn't say that he couldn't think about Amy, right?

"_Why?"_ the blue hero thought to himself sadly. _"Why did I have to end up with her instead of Amy? Now I get it. If only I took Amy's proposal a long time ago. Then we would've been happy right about now. But no. I had to be with a snobby so called princess. Still, I miss being with Amy…"_

To be continued.


	10. Chapter 10:A Walk in the Night

Ch.10: A Walk in the Night

That night, Amy was humming a tune in her mind. Cream was sitting on the floor, finishing her biology homework. It somehow scared her, but mostly surprised her. Why was Amy humming all of the sudden? Something must've made her happy today…

"What chu so happy about?" Cream asked with a smile.

"Well", Amy began as she sat up on the couch. "I met this guy named Shadow. And he's really cute."

"Just how cute is he?" the rabbit asked slyly.

"Get this, he's way cuter than Sonic", Amy winked.

"No way!" Cream looked back at her cheerfully. "I gotta see!"

"Cream, you're WAY too young for him."

"I'm just gonna take a look at him."

"Sure", Amy rolled her eyes.

All of the sudden, the phone rang. Cream got up and walked to the phone. Amy kicked back on the couch with a smile on her face. Apparently, she was thinking about Shadow, of course.

"Hello?" Cream answered the phone.

"Oh, god", Charmy gasped nervously.

"Oh, my gosh, Charmy", Espio shrugged as he took over the phone.

"Hi, Espio", Cream smiled.

"Hey", Espio replied back. "Where's Amy?"

"On the couch", Cream looked back at the happy hedgehog.

"Put her on the phone", Espio ordered.

Cream sighed as she walked to Amy. Since Amy's a detective, of course everyone had to talk to her. But still, the rabbit wanted to be talked as a heroine too. She gave Amy the phone as she woke up from her daydreaming.

"Yeah?" Amy answered.

"Hey, meet us at the front of the hotel in a few", Espio said.

"Why?" Amy asked.

"We're just gonna take another look around the streets."

"Again?"

"We're walking this time."

"Oh, good. Yeah, we'll meet cha there", Amy said and then hung up. "Come on, Cream. Let's get our jackets and get going."

"Ok!" Cream nodded.

(Amy's P.O.V.)

_I didn't know why Espio decided that we should walk that night. Guess he doesn't want to pay for the gas for my car, hehe. When we all got together, we took a long walk. Nothing was in the streets. Everything was clear, except the street lights and the quiet buildings. Still, we had to keep our eyes open, even if we were tired or not. Just then, at 11:00 p.m., something good happened that night. _(P. O. V. ends)

"Hey, who's that?" Vector pointed to a person up ahead of everyone.

"Is that the criminal?" Espio asked as he was crackling his fists.

"Wait", Amy examined the stranger. She then took off.

"Hey, wait up!" Cream called out.

The stranger was Shadow. He was walking alone wearing a red jacket and black jeans. He had his head down and arms crossed. Apparently, he couldn't sleep. So he had to take a long walk through the streets. His silence was broken when someone suddenly called out his name. He stopped and looked back.

"Hey, Shadow!" Amy ran to him as she waved cheerfully.

"Amy?" Shadow blinked. "What're you doing out so late?"

"Just, um, working on my case", Amy said as she stopped. "What about you?"

"I…thought I could take a breather", the black hedgehog replied. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought a walk would be good enough for me."

"Well, why don't chu join us?" Amy suggested happily.

"Really? Join what?"

"To search around the streets just in case the killer doesn't strike again."

"Hmm", Shadow pondered for a moment. "Ok, what the heck", he looked at her with a smile.

"Great", Amy hopped and took his right hand. "Lemme introduce you to my friends."

"Don't waste time, Amy", Espio said as he came up to her as well as the others did. "We're on a mission, remember?"

"I KNOW THAT", Amy glared at him devilishly.

"Ok, ok", the chameleon sweatdropped.

"Shadow, meet Espio, Charmy, Mighty, Vector, and Cream", Amy greeted.

"Hello", Cream, Charmy, Vector, and Mighty waved.

"_Whoa, he is cuter than Sonic",_ Cream thought as she looked at Shadow up and down slyly.

"Welcome to the club, Shadow boy!" Vector saluted.

"Yeah, we're gonna have fun", Charmy nodded.

"I'm sure of that", Shadow rubbed the back of his head.

A couple of hours have passed after Shadow joined the search with Amy and the gang. But to everyone's surprise, the criminal was nowhere to be found. They have crossed through Little Street, Gold Street, Peach Avenue, and Young Street. Now it was 1:00 in the morning. Charmy was asleep on Mighty's back as he struggled to keep his eyes open. Vector had his eyes closed as he held his flashlight forward. As for the rest of the crew, they still had their eyes open. Well, Cream was half asleep also. Amy looked at her watch and yawned.

"Maybe we should call it a night", she said.

"I guess", Espio rubbed his eyes. "Let's go home."

After the Chaotix took their way home, Amy, Shadow, and Cream were still together. The little girl started yawning as she tried to keep her balance so she wouldn't fall. Shadow looked back at notice.

"You need a lift?" he asked nicely.

"Um, that's ok", Cream yawned with a smile.

"No, no, I insist", the black hedgehog replied.

"Ok", Cream smiled and jumped onto Shadow's back.

"Hey", he giggled as he carefully kept his balance.

"Is she heavy?" Amy asked.

"No, she's fine", Shadow answered kindly.

"Oh, ok…"

Another hour has passed. While they were on their way back, Amy and Shadow chatted about their likes and dislikes. Finally, Amy and the others made it back to the hotel. Shadow let Cream off of his back slowly as Amy searched her pockets for her card key. Successfully, she found it. Her partner yawned widely as so did Shadow. The three of them were tired. It seems that it would be hard for them to wake up in the morning. What's worse is that Cream had to get up at 6 in order to get ready for school. She and Amy never had to stay out late to find some clues, so this was the first time. The first time, hopefully, the last. Turns out that they didn't enjoy that walk as well as the drive the other night.

"Sorry to keep you up so late", Amy turned to Shadow.

"No, its fine", he waved his hand no.

"Well, come on, Cream", the pink hedgehog took Cream's hand.

"So tired", Cream yawned.

"I'll catch ya later", Shadow waved and walked off in the opposite direction.

"See ya", Amy waved. _"Man, I can't wait to see him again one day",_ she thought as she watched her new crush walking off. _"I'm really starting to dig his style."_

(Amy's P.O.V.)

_Geez. When was the last time I fell in love like that? Well, I haven't been like that except when I was totally in love with Sonic once. But Shadow…He was different. Let's say he was cool, calm, and collective. I mean, I completely fell in love again. However, I didn't even think that if he liked me back. Still, at least I was able to meet a cute guy. Somehow, I had a feeling that Cream was jealous of me because I met him first. Tee-hee. After I said goodbye to Shadow, me and Cream went up to our room for a good night sleep…_

To Be Continued…


	11. Chapter 11:McKenzie's Death

Ch.11: McKenzie's Death

The next day, it was lunchtime at Cream's high school. She was sitting at a round table alone with her head on it. Too bad she stayed out so late, because she had to get up early to get ready for school. Not only that, she could barely walk, talk, and pay attention to class. If only there was a class to take a 50 minute nap. Apparently, they can't allow that because every student must go to all of their 7 classes for 50 minutes, 5 days a week. So Cream had to deal with it. But for now, she had a free chance to take a long nap.

"Wakie wakie!" a cheerful voice said as someone shook Cream's shoulders.

"Huh?" Cream lift her head up and looked to the side.

Standing next to her was a beautiful 15 year old girl that had green eyes, long brown hair, and wore the same uniform as Cream. She was a human of course. In fact, the school's filled with humans and anthropomorphic creatures. The girls wore plain white shirts with red ties in the middle along with blue high kneed skirts and brown dress shoes. For the boys, they wore their uniforms as white shirts also, blue jeans, and black dress shoes. However, the school wasn't a Catholic type.

"McKenzie?" Cream rubbed her eyes.

"Hecks yeah", the brunette winked. "Anyway, how come you've been tired all day? This is new to me."

"I was um…out", Cream explained tiredly.

"Out for what?" McKenzie asked.

"Me, Amy, and the others were searching for that one killer that's been on the news", Cream explained again.

"Oh, yeah!" the brunette shouted happily. "You be careful now, ok? I bet it's pretty cool to live with a famous detective and all", she complemented her friend.

"Yeah, it is", Cream yawned.

"So are you just gonna skip lunch for a nap?" McKenzie asked as she sat across from her.

"Maybe", Cream replied as she rested her head back on the table.

"Suit yourself", the human brunette shrugged her shoulders and then began to eat her lunch, which was pizza.

After school, Cream took the bus and made it home to her room. Once she got inside, she saw Amy snoring on the couch loudly. She sweatdropped. How in the world can the neighbors stand that loud snore? Then again, the neighbors worked during the day, so they didn't have to worry about it. But Cream had to deal with the racket while she does her homework. Good thing that there's a bed room that Amy doesn't use, because it would be a nice place to concentrate. However, Amy said not to go in there. She would say that the room is important to her just in case. Cream never knew what that meant, nor didn't she really care. As she tip toed to the 'important room', the floor suddenly squeaked.

"Doh!" Cream gasped quietly.

"Don't go into that room!" Amy sat up with her eyes open and pointed at Cream.

"Um, I wasn't", the rabbit looked at her happily yet scared of her yelling. "I was um…gonna get a snack."

"Uh-huh", Amy crossed her arms.

"Ok, I'm sorry", Cream sighed. "Just why won't you let me use it? Matter of fact, why don't you ever use it?"

"When you get older, I'll tell ya", Amy winked.

"But I don't know", Cream stomped her right foot softly.

"Any who, how was school?" Amy asked as she kicked back.

"Ok", Cream said. "But I could barely keep up with my classes."

"Well, sorry to drag you out so late", Amy apologized as she started looking for the remote.

"It's ok", Cream smiled. "Besides, it was good for me to get a good look at 'you know who'", she winked.

"You are too young!" Amy laughed.

"I'm only 15, for peace sakes", Cream rolled her eyes with a blush.

"Anyway, I think it's best if you stayed here when I'm out on a mission", Amy suggested.

"Why?" Cream looked at her with a blink.

"Well, you're just a freshmen in high school. And you need some rest in order to get ready for school tomorrow", Amy replied.

"Oh, I don't mind really", Cream waved her hand no. "Under the couch."

"Thanks", Amy grabbed the remote from under the couch. "But still", she looked back at Cream. "All you have to do is stay here, keep everything locked, and don't answer the door."

"But I like going on missions with you guys", Cream said, a little bit sad.

"Well…" Amy pondered. "If that's what you want to do, then ok."

"Great", Cream nodded happily. "So what are we gonna eat?"

"Wanna order some pizza?" Amy implied.

"Ok!" Cream exclaimed cheerfully.

That night, there was a full moon. A few dark clouds were rolling by. It was 11:00 in the evening as McKenzie was running as fast as she could. She had a big fantasy book in her arms. The reason why she was out late was because the book was due today. She'd always to turn her books back into the library, and in result, had to pay for the fees a few times. Nether less, she didn't want to pay another fee. After her parents went to sleep, she quietly put on her jacket with her yellow gown still on, her blue tennis shoes, the book, and left. She's been looking for the library for about 5 minutes now.

"_Darn it",_ she thought with frustration. _"Why do I keep forgetting to turn in my books?"_

A short time later, she made it to the Station Square Library. It was big as a mansion, but short as a department store. McKenzie hurriedly ran up a small case of stairs and went to the door. She tried to open it, but it was locked. Next, she tried the backdoor. However, that door was locked too.

"Drats!" McKenzie yelled angrily as she threw the book down harshly. "Oh, well, they can pick it up here", she said as she turned around and walked off.

Again, she ran as fast as she could to get home. Her head was down with sweat flying out of her long hair. Suddenly, she bumped into someone and then fell back. She looked up and saw a mysterious man wearing a large black coat and pants. His face was covered by his over large hood. True the guy looked kind of scary, but McKenzie didn't want to worry about it. She got up and brushed the dust off of her clothes.

"Sorry about that", she said with a small smile. "I just left the library. Tried to turn a book back in, but it was closed. So I left it outside, and I'm on my way home."

The man didn't reply back. He only starred at her suspiciously. McKenzie looked around to get him distracted, but there was nothing. She sighed as she looked away from the creepy figure.

"Ok, um", she began again. "Have a good night", she walked passed him.

As McKenzie walked forward, the man watched evilly. He was up to something. But what? It's too bad that the teenager didn't know how to deal with strangers at night. Even though he was quiet, that didn't make him a nice guy. He began to follow her carefully and slowly. The girl hummed a song from her mind. Approximately, she stopped. She looked back and found the man was gone. Still, she didn't even care. So she continued to walk forward. A few seconds later, she heard footsteps coming from behind. She looked back and found the same man standing behind her quietly.

"Holy crap!" McKenzie shrieked as she turned around and took off running.

The man followed her by walking. McKenzie didn't care to look back. If she did, it would've slowed her down. A minute later from her running, she turned a corner and entered a long alley. It was empty but had a few trash bags sitting in the middle of the road. The brunette looked around and the man was nowhere to be found.

"Phew!" she sighed with relief and laughed a little.

She began to walk back out of the corner. Before long, she was slammed against the wall of a wide brick building. She opened her eyes and saw exact same man that was holding her as hostage.

"Hey!" McKenzie shouted angrily as she struggled to get free. "What's your problem!?"

All McKenzie could do was struggle. She screamed, but was then cut off when the man placed his lips onto hers. At first she was shock, but mostly disgusted. He was a stranger and she had no idea what the dude has. Again, she started struggling with all of her might. But in return, she got pinned to the wall roughly. As the man began to kiss her again, she moved her head side to side, spitting out his saliva. The man then pressed his body onto hers pleasantly. She moaned a little but again wrestled to get free. She screamed loudly, but the man covered her mouth in time before it could've been heard throughout the area. As she mumbled her screams, the man shook his head slowly. He soon then released her lips.

"Who are you!?" McKenzie demanded.

"Your worst nightmare", the man said in an angry deep tone.

"What?" McKenzie raised an eyebrow.

The man pulled out a chef's knife. It already had blood on the sharp end. It looked like the same one that killed Cindy. McKenzie screamed in fear until she was stabbed in the stomach. The moon was covered with rain clouds. Thunder roared loudly. With McKenzie dead, the man released her and let her body slid to the ground with her eyes widened. Also, the knife was in her stomach deeply. The man back handed her and knocked her to the side on the hard ground. Then he left her for death. Soon after that, rain starting pouring down from the sky.

To Be Continued.


	12. Chapter 12:The Funeral

Ch.12: The Funeral

"Good morning, I'm Scarlet Garcia", said the red head reporter on the morning news. "Today, we have a very unbelievable story update. Just last night, a young 15 year old woman was stabbed to death in the stomach. According to the police, they said that it's possibly the same knife that killed Cindy a few days ago."

"What?!" Amy coughed out her coffee as she sat up of her couch.

"The female was named McKenzie Rochester, a brunette with long brown hair and green eyes. She was found at an alley near the Station Square library", the reporter explained. "Now the murders are getting serious. Is there a way to protect the streets at night? I'm Scarlet Garcia, and that's the news update of the bloody murder."

"_Wait, McKenzie?"_ Amy thought to herself. _"Ain't she... one of Cream's friends from school?"_

The telephone rang loudly. Amy got up, drank the rest of her coffee, and picked it up.

"Talk to me."

"Amy, did you see the news?" Vector answered.

"You know I never miss the news", Amy replied as she tapped her foot.

"Well, I just called to tell ya that we need to attend a funeral."

"For those three girls that got killed?" the female detective asked.

"Yep", Vector said. "It's at 11:00. Don't be late."

"Got it", Amy nodded.

(Amy's P.O.V.)

_An hour later, I made it to the cemetery where the funeral was taken place. It was for Cindy, Jackie, and Alexandra. When I got there, the whole place was packed. Luckily, the Chaotix were able to save a seat for me. We were all dressed in black and had sorrow looks on our faces. I felt sorry for them, but I was also angry with the murderer. He just killed just four women this week. And the fourth one was one of Cream's best friends. I began to wonder how McKenzie's funeral would be like. _(P.O.V. ends)

Amy and the Chaotix were standing at front row center. Charmy and Mighty sniffled as Vector began to blow his nose. As for Espio and Amy, they only starred at the three black coffins that were ready to go into the graves. Amy looked over to her right and saw Cindy's parents. Apparently, they were blondes. The mother cried sadly as her husband held her in his arms. Behind them were Jackie's parents. Both of them were brunettes, but the mother had blue streaks in her short black hair. She cried also as the husband shook his head in sorrow. As for Alexandra's parents, they were nowhere to be found.

"So we say farewell to these three beautiful women", the priest carried out his final words. "We shall wish them for peace among us."

A few burials carefully lowered the coffins into the three graves with long ropes. Some of Cindy's and Jackie's friends began to sob as the parents joined in. Charmy whimpered as Mighty wiped the tears from his eyes. Vector, Espio, and Amy starred at the graves sadly. The three women were now in their graves to rest in peace…After the funeral, most of the participants gathered inside the Catholic Church and talked about how they would never forget about Cindy and Jackie. But Alexandra's friends and family were nowhere to be found. A couple of school teachers went up to Cindy's parents and began to chat with them. Amy and Mighty watched while they were sitting at a table at a corner from everyone. The others were outside waiting for them.

"Man, that's a lot of people", Mighty spoke. "I've been to some funerals before, but this one's packed."

"Yeah", Amy nodded. "I see Cindy's and Jackie's family, but I don't see Alexandra's anywhere. Nor do I see any of her close friends."

"That's strange", Mighty pondered for a bit. "Why would Alex's family or friends not attend her funeral?"

"Excuse me", Cindy's mother walked up to Amy with her husband. "But are you Detective Rose?"

"The one and only", Amy replied.

"We just want you to thank you for taking your time for searching for our daughter's murderer", the husband shook her hand. "And for attending her funeral."

"That's no problem", Amy nodded.

"_I knew it",_ Mighty thought as he looked at Amy suspiciously. _"Everyone pays attention to her, not us."_

"Did she say anything before she died?" Amy asked nicely.

"Well, she said that she was going to run away", the mother tried to hold back her cry. "She's never been like that. I mean, she's a good girl."

"She 'was' a good girl", the husband looked down.

"What made her run away like that?" Amy asked.

"Well…She said something about seeing this 'special friend'", the father pondered.

"Special friend?" Mighty asked although he tried to hold his giggle.

"Have she ever introduced you to this 'friend'?" Amy implied.

"No", the mother shook her head. "In fact, she always stayed out late with him since last month in March."

"So she only knew him for about a month", Mighty crossed his arms.

"How did she meet him?" Amy asked again.

"She always talked to him on the computer", the blonde man answered calmly. "It was on some website called Secretchat."

"I've never heard about that website before", the pink hedgehog shook her head.

"Well, it's a website for single people for ages 18 and older", the mother said. "We blocked it once, but Cindy was able to get through without telling us how."

"Did you say 'Secretchat'?" Jackie's father asked as he and his wife walked up to the table. "Our daughter was on that site too."

"Really?" Mrs. Tyler asked.

"Yeah", Mrs. Michaels nodded. "In fact, she always had secret conversations with an unknown friend on that website."

"What if it's the same friend?" Mighty guessed.

"Come to think of it, Jackie and Cindy had a fight over that friend", Mr. Michaels explained.

"A fight?" Mr. Tyler turned to him. "That can't be. They're such good friends."

"Well, they were, that's how Jackie explained it", Mrs. Michaels said. "We never even met him before."

"So it's a guy, huh?" Amy figured.

"Yes", both the parents nodded.

"Hmm", the detective pondered. "Who knows, it could be the one who killed both of them."

"That's what we were thinking", the blonde woman said.

"Huh", Might blinked twice. _"Wow, weird. This guy chats with young women, becomes friends with them, and then kills them at night."_

"I'll find him for ya", Amy clenched her fists. "After that, I'll take him downtown."

"Thank you for your kindness", Mr. Tyler shook her hand again.

"We appreciate it", Mrs. Michaels smiled with relief.

"Say, did your daughters ever know Alexandra?" Mighty asked a question.

"No", the four adults shook their heads.

"Oh", Mighty scratched his head. "Strange that her parents aren't even here."

"That's true", Mrs. Tyler agreed as she looked around.

"We'll keep in touch", Mr. Tyler gave Amy his home phone number.

"Kay", Amy took it slightly.

"Yeah, be sure to call us too", Mr. Michaels gave Amy his number also.

"Got it", Amy took it.

The parents turned around and walked to a small crowd in the middle of them room. Amy put the phone numbers in her skirt pocket. Mighty yawned as he looked at his watch. Then they got out of their seats and went outside. They found Vector and Charmy waiting for them on the side of Vector's car. Amy looked over the corner of the building and found Espio smoking a cigarette.

"Since when did you smoke?" she asked sarcastically.

"I only smoke once in a while", Espio replied and then blew some smoke out of his mouth. "Anyway, the police needs us to get to the station", he said as he turned to her.

"Ok", Amy nodded.

To Be Continued...


	13. Chapter 13:Suspicions

Ch.13: Suspicions

About 20 minutes later, Amy and the Chaotix made it to the police department. They were all in a small conference room with the same cops as before. The blonde was Officer Jeff and the brunette was Officer Kyle. Also, Amy and the gang still had on their funeral clothes.

"What's up?" Amy spoke.

"Four girls were killed this week", Jeff answered. "And take a look at this", he held up the same bloody chef's knife.

"Eww!" Charmy and Mighty said in disgust.

"That knife…" Amy clearly recognized it.

"Yep, the same knife that killed Cindy", the blonde cop said.

"How did the guy get it from here?" Espio asked.

"Well, he broke in last night", the brunette explained. "He knocked the security guards unconscious and then left."

"Luckily one of the guards caught him before he could've taken both of the knives back", Jeff added. "He only grabbed that one and then vanished."

"Where's the other one?" Vector asked suspiciously.

"It's in the safe, down at the basement", Jeff explained. "Don't worry, I got the code."

"We first put the knives in a couple of jars, but I guess it didn't work well", Kyle said nervously.

"Damn right it didn't", Espio rolled his eyes.

"Espio", Vector and Amy snapped at him furiously.

"No, it's alright", Kyle waved his hand no.

"However, we're gonna put this knife in the safe too", Jeff said as he put the knife in a clean plastic bag.

"Have you scanned them to see who did it?" Mighty asked.

"Nope", Jeff shook his head. "Our scanners are shut down."

"How?" Charmy and Mighty asked curiously.

"Dunno", Kyle shook his head.

"Mind if we check it out?" Amy stood up.

"Go right ahead", Kyle opened the door.

Amy and the Chaotix walked out of the room. One of the security guards led them to the basement. Mighty pulled out a flashlight since it was dark down there. Charmy gulped and began to shiver in fear. He was scared of the dark. Espio took the flashlight and led the way. Then the others followed. They carefully went down the stairs as the security guard waited.

"Watch your step", Espio told everyone.

"Easy for you to say", Mighty scoffed sarcastically.

"Yipe!" Amy accidentally skipped a step and fell on Espio.

"Whoa!" the two shrieked in fear as they rolled down the stairs.

Vector, Charmy, and Mighty stopped. After a few seconds, they heard a crash. The flashlight spun around in circles slowly and showed Espio's left hand. The other Chaotix members gasped. Vector slowly felt the wall to see if there was a switch. Then he flipped one. Then, the lights came on and everyone saw Espio on top of Amy unconscious. Mighty and Vector gasped as they covered Charmy's eyes.

"Hey, what happened?" the bumble bee asked worriedly. "Are they ok?"

Amy opened her eyes slowly. She gasped as she saw Espio's face on her neck. She began to growl angrily. Espio lift his head up and looked at her. Just within a blink of an eye, Amy did a flash uppercut and sent Espio into the air. His head went through the ceiling. Charmy released Mighty and Vector's hands off of him and looked up. Then the three started laughing hysterically.

"Hey, Espio! Don't chu know how to 'use your head'?" Mighty joked.

"You ok, Amy?" Charmy zoomed down to her.

"Yeah, yeah", Amy stood up straight and brushed the dust off of her.

"Oww", Espio groaned in pain.

"Hey, look", Charmy pointed behind Amy.

"Eh?" Amy looked back.

They both saw a huge machine that had light bulbs and a computer screen on it. Amy walked to it as Charmy followed. Vector finally stopped laughing and pulled Espio down from the ceiling. But then they fell back due to the height. Mighty walked downstairs and began to laugh again. The pink hedgehog ignored the commotion and looked around the machine. She then looked under the table. A gasp came out of her mouth.

"What's up?" Charmy asked nicely.

"Look at this", Amy replied.

Charmy looked under the table also. They saw a few red and blue wires sliced into pieces. The sparks flashed a little bit. Espio and the others looked at them also. Then they went upstairs. The guard looked at them to see if they were ok.

"What happened?"

"We just founded out that the wires are cut", Vector answered.

"From the scanner?"

"Yep."

"That's strange…"

"Looks like the guy doesn't want to go to his new home in jail", Espio said as he rolled his shoulders.

"Plus the wires are chopped into small pieces", Mighty said.

"Alright", the guard said. "We'll get to work on it. Thanks for coming."

The detectives nodded. A while later, they went outside. Amy sat on the back of her car and so did her friends. Espio pulled out another cigarette and lit it with a lighter. Mighty looked at him and shook his head. Why would a detective be smoking all of the sudden? Amy looked away and starred at the police department building.

"What do you think?" Vector crossed his arms.

"I dunno", Charmy shrugged his shoulders.

"What if…What if the killer comes back to get his knives?" Amy asked nervously.

"Hopefully he doesn't", Mighty turned to her.

"So", Vector scratched his head. "What happened after the funeral?"

"We talked to Cindy and Jackie's parents", Mighty explained. "They said that they were best friends and they were aftering the same guy."

"Really?" Espio asked before he put the cigarette in his mouth.

"It turns out the guy likes to play with young women's minds", Amy said. "He met them on the internet, became friends with them, ruined their friendships, and then killed them."

"That's terrible", Charmy gasped in fear.

"On what website?" Vector asked again.

"Secretchat", Mighty replied.

"Maybe he's a teenager", Charmy pondered.

"Maybe", Amy crossed her arms. "However, I'm starting to have some suspicions. He killed on the first two days this week…Then he didn't strike the next two nights. Just last night, he killed McKenzie."

"Today's Friday", Espio said and took a small puff.

"This is weird…" Mighty crossed his arms also.

"It's like he's watching us", Amy thought outloud.

"Then I guess we gotta be careful", Espio turned to her.

"Yeah", Amy nodded. "I'm outta here", she then got in her car.

The Chaotix waved except for Espio. Amy slowly backed up her car and then left. After that, Espio threw down the cigarette and he got in the car. Vector, Charmy, and Mighty sighed and got in also. Then Vector drove his car into the opposite direction from Amy.

To Be Continued…


	14. Chapter 14:Did he just ask me out?

Ch.14: Did he just ask me out?

Later on, Amy was driving through the town in her own car. She was enjoying the sound of some pop/rock music. She began to sing to the lyrics:

_**CHORUS:**__**  
I hope you know, I hope you know  
That this has nothing to do with you  
It's personal, myself and I  
We've got some straightenin' out to do  
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket  
But I've got to get a move on with my life  
It's time to be a big girl now  
And big girls don't cry  
Don't cry  
Don't cry  
Don't cry**_

_**The path that I'm walking  
I must go alone-**_

Before Amy continued to sing the song, her radio suddenly started getting fuzzy. She pressed a few buttons to listen to some other radio stations, but they were fuzzy too. She began to get angry. All she wanted to do was to listen to some music while she was on her way home. But it was no use. There was only one thing to do…

"Aw, man!" Amy complained. "I don't wanna go to the car shop. Ugh!"

Suddenly she began to hear some loud beeping. She looked over at the oil gauge and it said that it was half empty. So she had to go to the car shop. She sighed as she started looking for a car shop nearby.

(Amy's P.O.V.)

_Damn, that was my favorite song. I wonder why my car went all haywire all of the sudden. Plus, how in the world did my oil tank get so half empty? That was very strange. Because matter of fact, I could've sworn that I had my oil tank filled up just a couple of weeks ago. But still, I had to go to the 'car shop'. I don't really like to go there because I have to pay a lot of my money to get my car fixed. However, I needed my radio back…'Sigh'._

A few minutes later, Amy pulled up at the front of 'Carl's Car Shop'. The place was huge! Not only it had a garage to fix cars, but it also had a car wash to it also. Amy parked the car, took her car keys, and then rushed inside the car shop. At the front desk was a 5'5 tall man with bob cut black hair and had a smile on his face.

"Can I help you?" he asked nicely.

"Yeah, I need some help with my…car", Amy sighed.

"What's wrong with it?"

"Well, my radio's jacked up and somehow, I need to refill my oil tank."

"No problem. Please wait", the man pointed to a small couch at a nearby wall.

"Ok, thank you", Amy said as she walked to the couch.

She sat on the couch softly. It was quite comfortable, considering that it looked brand new. Just then, the man walked up to her with a pen and paper. A huge smile came upon his face. Amy looked at him oddly.

"Yeah?"

"Can I have your autograph?" the man asked anxiously. "I'm like your huge fan. I like how you always send bad guys to jail. You're my hero!"

"Heroine", Amy corrected him as she took the paper and pen.

Two hours later, Amy was asleep on the couch. The employees were taking so long to fix up her car. At first she watched some television, but all it showed was some boring soap opera shows. After 15 minutes, she dozed off to Sleepy world. As she was snoring loudly like a bear, the man poked her on the stomach to wake her up. She finally stopped snoring and opened her eyes.

"What?" Amy yawned as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"We're finished with your car", the man smiled. "Sorry it took so long. We had a lot of customers today. Plus we have a new guy here that did most of the work. So we had to go back and forth on your car and everyone else's."

"Wow", Amy said sarcastically.

"I'll show you to your car", the man helped her up from the couch.

They walked to a large blue door. Both of them walked inside the garage. Amy's car was located in the middle of a red van and a yellow beetle car. Apparently, there were about 10 cars in total that were fixed perfectly.

"Welp, there's your car", the man greeted.

"So how much do I have to pay?" Amy asked as she reached for her wallet.

"Oh, no, no, it's all good", the man stopped her politely. "Since you're pretty famous, you don't have to pay much for the car."

"Really?" Amy blinked.

"Well, all we had to do was place a new battery for your radio; fill up the oil tank, put some air in your tires, and that's it."

"Huh", Amy blinked again. "Still", she filled out a check and handed it to the man.

"Are you sure?" he asked nicely.

"You deserve it", Amy said. "Same with the new guy, whoever it is."

"Ok", the man said and went back inside.

Amy walked to her car. Underneath it, someone was twisting a few metal parts together. A sigh came out of the other employee's mouth as he crawled out under the car. Suddenly, Amy gasped. The employee gasped too. It was actually Shadow! They haven't forgotten each other for a bit. Amy started seeing hearts in her eyes as Shadow looked away with a huge red blush.

"Wow, um…What a surprise", Shadow got up and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah", Amy looked away shyly.

The scene was getting awkward for the two of them. They haven't seen each other in a few days. Shadow quickly wiped the oil spots off of his face so he wouldn't be embarrassed. Then he and Amy looked at each other.

"So, I, uh-," they began at the same time. "No, you go first. No, I insist."

"Um, you go", Amy offered.

"Ok, um…" Shadow began slowly. "How's it going?"

"Well, things are getting tough", Amy said. "I just went to a funeral a few hours ago."

"For whom?" Shadow asked.

"For the three girls that got killed this week", Amy explained.

"Oh, yeah, that's right", Shadow scratched his head. "Anyway, you busy tomorrow night?"

"Huh?" Amy hopped back a little in shock.

"I was just um…Wondering if um…You wanna…" Shadow tried to explain but he was too nervous.

Amy's heart began to beat. A blush came up on her face. She was getting more nervous than Shadow. What was he about to say? Was he going to ask her out on a date? Or what? Even though they haven't talked to each other in a while, Amy still had a feeling about something. Still, she had to be patient. But she couldn't wait any longer. What was Shadow going to say?

"You think you wanna go to the football game with me tomorrow?" Shadow finally asked the question.

"Huh?" Amy looked at him with a sweatdrop.

"I got two tickets, and I thought that you were the only one to go with me", Shadow held up a couple of blue and red tickets.

"Who against whom?" Amy asked.

"The New York Jets vs. Tennessee Titans."

"Hmm…" Amy pondered. "Ok, sure", she smiled.

"Great", Shadow smiled back. "I'll pick you up around 6 o'clock, ok?"

"You remember what hotel I stay at, right?" Amy asked to make sure.

"Emerald Hotel?" Shadow asked.

"Yep", Amy nodded.

"Ok, cool", Shadow shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah", Amy said nervously.

Quickly and nervously, Amy got in her car and started it up. Good news was her radio, oil tank, and tires were fixed! So she was good to go. She and Shadow waved goodbye as she backed up. Then she left the place. After that, Shadow stood there alone with a smile on his face.

(Amy's P.O.V.)

_Whoa, that was weird. Did he just ask me out? Well, I wasn't sure if it was a date, but I was pretty nervous when he asked me to go with him. But football? I'm not much of a sports fan, but it was good for a cute guy to ask me to go with him. I was probably the only one he knew, so he had to ask me to go with him. Still, I was pretty excited. However, I was also glad to get my radio back. I like that guy…_

To Be Continued…


	15. Chapter 15:How to Deal with Boys

Ch.15: How to Deal with Boys

Later at 5:00 p.m., Amy was searching through her dressers to find something to wear. She was going to the football game with Shadow tomorrow night, and she really liked him a lot. However, she didn't really want to dress like they were going on a date or to dress up like a tomboy either. Things were getting frustrated for her. She just had to find something to wear quickly! While she was throwing some clothes out of her drawers, Cream walked up to her from behind.

"Wow, this is my first time being in this room. You don't usually come in this room at this time", she looked around.

"Huh?" Amy stopped and looked back. "What's up?"

"Well, um…" Cream began shyly. "Where are you going?"

"Guess what", Amy jumped up to her feet happily. "Me and Shadow are going to the football game together tomorrow night."

"Wow, awesome!" Cream cheered. "But wait football? You don't watch any sports", she said with a sweatdrop.

"I can at least hang out with him", Amy crossed her arms. "Anyway, what should I wear?" she began to search through her drawers again.

"Just…whatever", Cream shrugged her shoulders.

"Not helping", Amy said sarcastically.

Cream continued to look around the 'room' that Amy told her not to go in. There were badge colored walls, a clear glass window at the far left of the room, plain pink carpet, and a red queen size bed was placed at a wall. The room looked beautiful. Still, why Amy doesn't use the room much and why can't Cream go in there? Well, she's in there for now. She can tell that when she gets done, Amy would ask her to leave.

"Say, Amy", Cream began again. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Amy asked as she looked at a light blue shirt.

"Deal with boys", the rabbit replied with a blush.

"Well", Amy stood up and looked at her. "Sometimes, you can have boys as your friends as much as girls as friends. Just be nice to them and they'll be nice to you, too."

"What about boyfriends?" Cream asked again.

"Huh", Amy blinked. "Well, that depends if you and the guy like each other or not. You can't just be with a guy that can't stand your guts. Also, if you have a crush on someone that has a girlfriend, just be friends with him."

"Wow", Cream nodded slowly.

"Any boys try to get your number?" Amy winked.

"Some are just flirty", Cream shook her head. "Plus, they can be annoying sometimes."

"Well, that means they like you", Amy began to explain again. "You see, some boys try their best to get a woman's eyes on them just to get a good look at her. If there's some boys that are a bit flirty with ya, that means they think that you're cute. However some boys would just mess with ya because they don't get attention at home. And that they're just being stupid. See, you just gotta be careful what kind of boys you hang around with. Because, some boys these days want to get down in your pants."

"Interesting", Cream sweatdropped. "But what if a guy has a girlfriend and he likes to be with you?"

"Let's see…" the pink hedgehog pondered for a moment. "Maybe he's planning on cheating. Or he just wants a lot of girlfriends. Or maybe he's scared to leave his girl. If there's a guy that has a girlfriend and he hangs out with you, don't take his offer to be his girlfriend. Because he already has one, and you don't want his actual girlfriend to get into a fight with ya."

"Ok", Cream nodded.

"You're in high school", Amy said. "There's gonna be a lot of challenges for ya. Not just the textbooks. But men too. So watch yourself, alright?"

"Got it", the rabbit nodded with a smile. "You're pretty smart, Amy."

"Ain't I?" the pink detective scoffed as she started looking for an outfit again.

"One more question."

"Shoot."

"Do you still love Sonic?" Cream asked calmly.

Suddenly, Amy stopped. She remembered that she used to be crazy in love with him in the past, but he never returned his feelings to her. He was with Sally, and that was his choice. It took a long time for Amy to accept that, but she was able to pull through. Also, it was very strange that Cream would ask a question like that. And heck, Amy's trying to get ready to go with a cuter guy! Even though Amy doesn't love Sonic anymore, some things still tingle inside of her. She wasn't missing him, only thinking about him. Apparently, she doesn't think about him much. Only when she and Sonic talk to each other barely. But Sally was keeping their friendship back. So that made Amy not wanting to think about them anymore. Still, all of those memories were never forgotten.

"Um", Amy began shyly and slowly. "I'm not in love with him anymore. We're just friends. Actually, associates. Nothing else matters", she continued to look for an outfit to wear.

"Oh", Cream said calmly. She then went to the living room and began to watch some TV.

Meanwhile, Sonic was just finishing preparing some dinner for him and Sally. They were about to eat some macaroni and cheese, steak, fresh dinner salad, mashed potatoes, and chopped apples. He carefully sat the two plates on the table.

They lived at a $500,000 mansion just outside of the city. Weird thing was that they don't have any butlers, maids, nor even had a chef in the place! Even though they have a lot of money, it didn't create some much happiness. Sally became a snob, and Sonic became her slave-like boyfriend. Still, he either had to live with her or nowhere.

"Are you done yet?" Sally called out while she was in the living room watching 'America's Next Top Model'.

"Yeah", Sonic replied nicely. "Dinner's ready."

"Thank God", Sally shrugged as she got up and went to the kitchen.

She and Sonic sat across from each other at a small rectangular table. Both of them said their grace silently and began to eat. As Sonic chewed down some of his steak, Sally looked up at him with a smile on her face.

"So, honey. What do you want to do tomorrow tonight?" she asked sweetly.

"Ooh, I know", Sonic gently swallowed his food. "How about we go to the football game?" he suggested cheerfully.

"Hell no", Sally looked down at her food and took a bite of her salad. "You know that I hate football. Plus, I hate it even more when you watch it on TV."

"But it'll be fun", Sonic whined like a little child. "Plus, it's the Jets against the Titans! The ultimate game of the year!"

"I don't care", Sally scoffed rudely and started eating her steak.

"PLLLEEEEAASSSSSEEEE????" Sonic begged with huge puppy dog eyes.

"No", Sally said without looking at him.

"Pretty please?"

"NO."

"With sugar on top?"

"Are you death? I said 'no'."

"With a cherry on the very top?"

"Dammit, no."

"Aw, come on, please?"

"N-O. NO."

"I'll buy the ring for ya one day."

"I know you will. But still, nope."

"…Please?"

"Sonic!" Sally slammed her fists on the table. "What did I just say?"

"But-," Sonic tried to begin.

"No buts", Sally waved her finger no. "We're not going to the game. Matter a fact, we're staying home. And I don't want to hear anymore of your whines or complaints."

"…", Sonic looked away sadly and angrily.

"Now, just shut up and eat your damn dinner", Sally ordered as she took a small piece of her steak and ate it.

"Ok", Sonic sighed heavily and began to eat again, this time slowly. _"Great",_ he thought to himself madly. _"If I can't go, then I'm sneaking out. After Sally sleeps tomorrow night, I am out. And I don't care if she likes it or not. I'M GOING!"_

To Be Continued.


	16. Chapter 16:Chase Night

Ch.16: Chase Night

Near midnight, the Chaotix were leaving the movie theater. They just finished watching a killer action movie called 'Resident Evil: Extension'. It could've been better if Charmy didn't scream so much and that the adults didn't bring their bratty kids along with them. So they didn't really enjoy the theater. Now they were walking down an empty road in the night. No one was in sight. No one, but Vector, Espio, Mighty, and Charmy.

"That was a pretty good movie", Mighty smiled.

"Yeah, but I wished there wasn't so many kids in there", Vector crossed his arms. "Dammit, keep your kids home, people."

"Not only that, but Charmy kept screaming like a girl", Espio added.

"Whatever", the bumble bee rolled his eyes.

Vector and Mighty laughed. Charmy began to whine to tell them that it wasn't funny. A little while later, they heard a scream. The four stopped and looked around.

"What was that?" Espio asked as he got into his fighting position.

"Sounds like someone's screaming", Mighty shivered in fear.

"I think it was a girl", Vector got into his fighting position also.

"Look!" Charmy looked over to his right and pointed.

His comrades looked over at his direction. They gasped as they saw a mysterious man dressed in all black. He was holding a Latin female with long brown hair. The woman wore a short pink dress and was screaming to put her down. She struggled and smacked his back, but she wasn't strong enough. The man looked over at the Chaotix. Then he took off.

"Stop!" Espio called out as he went after him.

"Wait up", Mighty yelled out as he, Charmy and Vector followed.

They followed the criminal. Who knows, it could be the one that they were looking for! However, the guy was fast. Just too fast for everyone. Since Espio is like a 'Speedster' to his team, he could barely keep up with him. Might and Vector suddenly stopped to take a break. Charmy continued to follow Espio by using his bumble wings to fly.

As the girl continued to scream, the criminal turned the corner. He ran quickly until he ended up at a dead end. He swore loudly as the woman continued to hit him as hard as she could to get free. When he turned around, he was trapped. Espio was standing right at his only exit! He walked to him slowly.

"Help me!" the Latin female screamed for mercy.

The mysterious villain pulled out a pistol out of his back pocket. Espio gasped as he ducked down from a fired bullet. Before the man could've fired again, Espio threw a shuriken knife and smacked the gun out of his hand. The man seethed in pain as he looked at his left bleeding index finger. Then Espio charged at him as he began to do a hand sign. But then, the man threw down a smoke bomb. It spread through the whole area. Espio coughed as he stopped running and covered his eyes. About 10 seconds later, the smoke cleared. Then Espio opened his eyes and found the female and the criminal gone!

"_Dammit",_ he thought as he growled.

"Espio!" Charmy called out as he and the others finally caught up with him.

"What happened?" Vector asked.

"He got away", Espio walked forward and picked the pistol off of the ground. "And he took the girl with him."

"Say…What if that was the same guy that's been killing innocent women this week?" Might pondered.

"It could be him", Espio lift his head up. "No doubt about it. I wonder if the girl is going to be alright…"

"Me too", Charmy wondered sadly.

"Should we tell Amy about this?" Vector suggested.

"Not now", Espio said. "She's probably asleep. If we wake her up now, then we all might receive a punch in the face."

"Yeah, you're right", Mighty sweatdropped.

"Then let's tell her tomorrow", Vector said.

"Yes", Espio nodded. "We better tell the police after that. Come on, let's go home", he turned around and walked pass his friends.

As he continued off, his pals followed. Meanwhile, the criminal was hopping from one building to another. He was able to get far away from his enemy and to get free. As for his victim, she was unconscious. While he escaped, he knocked her out so she would stop screaming. Where was he going to take her? What was he going to do with her? For now, the woman was unconscious. If she wakes up, something bad might happen to her. The excitement was tingling inside of the mysterious kidnapper.

"_That was close",_ he thought with relief. _"Good thing that I kept one of those bombs this time. Otherwise, I would've been a goner. But-Damn! My pistol! Oh, well. That doesn't matter to me now. Because right now, I got me a new bait…"_

As the unknown villain continued to get away, the woman was still unconscious. She was never seen again that night…

To Be Continued...


	17. Chapter 17:To the Game!

Ch.17: To the Game!

The next evening finally came for Amy. She was just finished brushing her hair. After that, she got dressed for the game. She wore a black halter top, long red capris, and red, black, and white tennis shoes. Her hair was down to her back with a red headband on it. On her face was some gold glitter on the cheeks, pink lip-gloss, and had her eye lashes curled to the side perfectly.

"Whaddya think?" Amy asked Cream who was watching a scary movie on the TV.

"Wow", Cream observed her in shock. "You look great! But it's just a game, not a date."

"I know", the pink hedgehog smiled. "Anyway", she began as she grabbed her car keys and purse. "I'll be gone for a pretty long time now. Keep the doors locked, don't answer the door unless if it's someone you know. And uh…That's it", she got done gathering her things and rushed out of the door.

"Ok", Cream sweatdropped. "She's seems excited."

A few minutes later, Amy sat on the hood of her car. She looked at her watch. It read 5:40 p.m. Shadow was beginning to run late. Come to think of it, he didn't really say what direct time that he was going to be there. In fact, Amy doesn't know that he has a car or not. For now, she had to wait. Hopefully, she didn't have to wait long.

"Yo, Amy!" a familiar voice called out and Amy lift her head up.

She saw Knuckles and Rouge walking to her. Rouge waved as Knuckles gave her two thumbs up. Both of them were wearing Jets jerseys and caps. Were they going to the football game too?

"Hi, Amy", Rouge said as she gave her friend a hug.

"Hey, Rouge", Amy hugged back.

"Wasabi!!" Knuckles gave her a horrible squeezy hug.

"Hi-Let go!" Amy begged as her face turned blue.

"Ok", the goofy echidna released her and she panted. "You goin' to da game, too?"

"Yeah, you?" Amy asked.

"Hecks yeah", Rouge nodded. "Then why wouldn't we wear all of these Jets accessories?"

"Go Jets!" Knuckles cheered. "Wait", he suddenly looked at Amy. "If you're going, where's your jersey?"

"Well, I don't watch football", Amy explained. "But Shadow invited me to go with him."

"Oohhh!!!" Rouge teased.

"Oh, snap!" Knuckles snickered.

"It's not a date, geez", Amy looked away with a blush.

"Well, you sure dress up like you're goin' on one", Knuckles examined her outfit.

"Where is he anyway?" Rouge looked around. "Say, you don't mind if we roll with ya, right?"

"No, I don't mind", Amy smiled.

"Shuper shweet!" Knuckles hopped. "Cause, that ride looks tight!" he complemented about her car.

"Thanks", Amy sweatdropped. _"Where is Shadow?"_ she thought impatiently.

Shadow was walking down the sidewalk to find Emerald Hotel. He was running late. If only he hadn't lost the tickets in his house so soon, then he wouldn't be wasting Amy's time to wait for him. As he was coming close to the front of the hotel, he saw Knuckles and Rogue talking to Amy. He figured that they were going with them. With no other choice, he went up to them.

"Shadow", Amy waved.

"Hm?" the couple looked back.

"Hey", Shadow waved with a smile. "Sorry, I'm late-,"

"Wazzup homeboy!!" Knuckles interrupted him as he gave Shadow a tight hug.

"Hi-Let go!" Shadow coughed for air.

"My bad, my bad", Knuckles released him. "Wow, you look like you're ready for the game", he examined Shadow's clothing.

The black hedgehog wore a Jets jersey that looked like Rouge and Knuckles', with his Jets cap turned backwards, wore green and white tennis shoes, wore green paint on his face, and long green pants. Looks like Amy was left out to join the fan club. Just to think what the other Jet fans were going to say about her outfit once she walks into the stadium. Now she wished that she wore a better outfit.

"_Great",_ the pink hedgehog thought with a frown. _"I'm gonna look like a fool once I walk into the stadium. I wish that I founded a better outfit to wear."_

"Hey", Shadow spoke to her.

"Huh?" Amy turned to him shyly.

"You, um…look nice", Shadow said shyly with a red blush.

"Aaw!" Knuckles and Rouge cooed as they pinched his cheeks.

"Thanks", Amy smiled with a pink blush. "Anyway, shall we get going?"

"Oh, snap, you're right", Knuckles finally remembered about the game. "Let's get in, yo."

All of them got inside Amy's car. Shadow sat in the passenger's seat next to Amy as Knuckles and Rouge sat in the back. They checked their pockets for tickets. Luckily, they had them. The four clicked on their seatbelts.

"Oh, by da way", Knuckles began as Amy turned on the ignition.

"What?" the pink hedgehog said.

"While we're on our way, can we listen to my mix CD?" the red echidna held up a clear disk.

"Umm…" Amy pondered.

"There's no cursing, I promise", Knuckles smiled.

"Alright", the pink hedgehog took it and stuck into her CD player.

Suddenly, the CD started playing some reggae hip-hop music. Knuckles and Rouge started dancing to the music. Shadow and Amy sweatdropped.

_**Intro:**__**  
The gal dem Schillaci...Sean da Paul  
So me give it to...so me give to...so me give it to...to all girls  
Five million and forty naughty shorty...  
Baby girl...all my girls..all my girls...Sean da Paul say...**_

"Reggae?" Shadow asked.

"Yep", Knuckles said as he did the robot. "It's Sean Paul. Never heard dat song before?"

"Besides, you'll love this song", Rouge smiled as she did the snake.

All of the sudden, Amy and Shadow began to nod their heads. Actually, they started dancing to the song too! It seemed like it would've been better than listening to some rap songs that made no sense. So Knuckles pretty much knew their taste. As everyone danced to the beat, Amy drove off.

_**Chorus:**__**  
Well woman the way the time cold I wanna be keepin' you warm  
I got the right temperature for shelter you from the storm  
Oh lord, gal I got the right tactics to turn you on, and girl I...  
Wanna be the Papa...You can be the Mom...oh oh!**_

Back at Sonic's mansion, Sally was in the living room watching 'Cops' on TV. Sonic was locked up in their bedroom so he wouldn't bug her about the big game tonight. But he had to go! He would kill himself if he missed it! So now was his chance to get away. Sure that Sally locked the doors, she didn't lock the windows. Quietly as he could, Sonic put on a large Jets jersey with jeans and green tennis shoes, and tip-toed to the window. He slightly opened it. Apparently, he was on the second floor, but that wasn't gonna be a problem for him. He jumped from the window and landed in the front bushes. Lucky for him, Sally didn't hear or bother to look.

"_Sorry, Sal",_ the blue hedgehog thought as he crawled out of the bushes. _"But you left me no other choice. If you don't wanna go with me, then I'll go alone."_

The blue hero carefully got up from the ground and took off. His main point was the football stadium. As for Sally, she was still watching TV.

To Be Contiued…


	18. Chapter 18:Where's Amy?

Ch.18: Where's Amy?

Thirty minutes later, Amy and the friends made it to the Station Square Football Stadium. The parking lot was totally packed. There was no parking space in sight for Amy to park her car. That is until Knuckles pointed at an empty spot between a white van and a yellow corvette. Amy carefully parked her car and they all got out.

"WHOO!!!" Knuckles cheered loudly. "We are here!"

"Yay, Jets!" Rouge cheered with him.

"Hey, guys", Amy smiled. "Save the cheerings when we get inside."

The four took off. After passing through small crowds and avoiding cars, they made it to the ticket. After they handed them in, they went to their spot. Their seats were located at Section D, Row 7. Once they got there, a lot of fans were cheering loudly to see the game get started. Amy and the others went to their spots. Then Knuckles and Rouge started cheering along with the other fans.

"Why are they cheering when the game hasn't started?" Amy asked with a sweatdrop.

"That happens", Shadow chuckled. "People are just excited to see the game."

"Still…I don't really know much about football", Amy scratched her head.

"Well, when the game starts, I'll explain to ya", Shadow rubbed the back of his head.

After ten minutes of waiting, the game finally started. When the Titans came out to the field, all of the Jets fans booed harshly. Knuckles called them queers as Rouge yelled out 'GO BACK TO YOUR MOMMA'S HOUSE!' As for Amy and Shadow, they just paid attention to the field. As the Jets came out to the field, everyone cheered. And as for the Titans fans, they booed at them. That made both the football fans use swearing, holding up middle fingers, and booing at each other. The two teams played heads or tails. Turns out the Titans get the kick off. No one from the Jets side was happy about it. After the Titans made the kick, the game began.

Later on, Sonic made it to the front gate to the stadium. He was about 20 minutes late, since the stadium was far away from his home. He walked up to the ticket stand. Just then, a couple of security guards recognized him.

"Oh, my god! It's Sonic", the brunette guard on the left pointed out.

"Long time no see, Sonic", another brunette guard waved.

"Yeah", Sonic pulled out his ticket. "Sorry I'm late."

"Say, I got an idea", the security guard on the right said. "Why don't you sit at the V.I.P. section? I mean, seeing you at the big game could excite the people."

"Really?" Sonic scratched his head.

"Yeah", the other cop nodded. "In fact, let me show you the way."

"Sweet", the blue hedgehog smiled.

A while later, Sonic entered the V.I.P section which was on a large balcony that was outside. He could see the whole field from above. Also, he was able to see the cheering crowds. The same security guard stood at the door so no one would assassinate him. A V.I.P. member turned to Sonic in shock.

"Sonic?"

"Yep, that's me", Sonic smiled at the nice man.

"My, you have grown", the middle aged man said.

"Yeah", Sonic scratched his head.

"Here, have these", the man handed him a pair of binoculars.

"Oh, um, thank you", Sonic took it politely.

He began to look through them. As he looked down at the field, one of the Jets players made a touchdown. All of the fans cheered loudly. As the game went to commercial, Sonic began to look around at random people. He stopped when he saw four familiar creatures. He examined them carefully. It was Knuckles, Rouge, Amy, and Shadow, standing in order. Sonic took a good look at Shadow and Amy together. The black hedgehog was pointing down at the field as Amy looked to whatever he was looking at. Sonic lowered his binoculars slowly. Something was tingling inside of him.

Meanwhile, Espio was just getting his jacket to leave his house. His friends were in the living room watching the Jets vs. Titans game. They all had Jets T-shirts and caps with big smiles on their faces. Espio ignored the loud TV and left the house. He then took off to find Emerald Hotel. It was best for him to get there on foot, because he didn't want to drive the raggedy car of Vector's. He had to tell Amy about what happened the last night. The criminal chase.

About ten minutes later, Espio made it to Amy's room door. He knocked on in impatiently. Cream was watching Jerry Springer until she heard the loud knocks. She got up and took a peek at the door hole. She saw Espio.

"Amy?" Espio continued to knock on the door.

"Espio?" Cream opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to Amy", the purple chameleon panted slowly. "Me and the others saw the criminal last night."

"The one-?"

"Yes."

"Well, she's not here."

"What?" Espio blinked in shock. "Well, where is she?"

"She's at the football game with Shadow", Cream explained.

"Amy doesn't even like football."

"Yeah, but since Shadow invited her, and that he's way cute, she decided to go."

"You have got to be kidding me", Espio slapped his forehead. "Listen, stay here. I'm gonna find her and talk to her."

"Ok."

Espio turned around and rushed to the elevator. Cream shrugged her shoulders and closed the door. She locked the door and then went back to watch TV. Meanwhile, Espio was already outside of the hotel. He ran off in his right direction. Apparently, he was on his way to the stadium. But how was he going to get in without a ticket?

"_I gotta get to Amy",_ Espio thought as he began to run faster. _"This is a big emergency here."_

Just when the football game was halfway done with the second quarter, Espio made it to the stadium. He hid behind the side so that way the security guards couldn't see him. He did a quick hand sign and turned invisible. After that, he snuck in without anyone noticing him. Then he took off to the stairs. They were long, but didn't look like there was going to be a problem for him. All he focused on was finding Amy.

Back with Sonic, he continued looking at Amy and Shadow through the binoculars. Somehow, he felt hurt and angry at the same time. But he didn't want to show it. He bit his bottom lip so he wouldn't say anything outloud.

"Is something wrong?" the middle aged man asked.

"There's…someone in the stands", Sonic explained calmly. "Someone that I know…"

"Do you want to go and see them?" the man asked nicely. "It's ok if you do."

Sonic nodded. He hand the man back his binoculars and left the balcony. Meanwhile, Sally was walking up the stairs to their bedroom. Strangely, it was too quiet up there. But soon she heard some sounds from 20 inch screen TV. Turns out it was the football game. She figured that he was too distracted from the game or he must've fallen asleep. However, she wanted to check on him. She unlocked the door and went inside.

"Sonic-What the hell!?" she stopped as she noticed that Sonic was nowhere in sight. "DID HE SNEAK TO THE GAME WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!?" she yelled loudly and it echoed through the whole mansion. "Grr…I am going to give him a peace of my mind!"

The snobby princess quickly left the room. She then went out to the garage and opened it. She got in her white Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class automobile and left the place. Now she was on her way to the stadium to find Sonic.

To Be Contiued.


	19. Chapter 19:Strange Jealousy

Ch.19: Strange Jealousy

Sonic ran off from the V.I.P. section and was on his way to Amy. He seemed jealous of her being with Shadow. Still, he already has a girlfriend. But 'she' didn't really matter to him now. He only hoped that Amy was ok. Meanwhile with Espio, he finally made it to the top of the stairs. He opened two large doors and went into the stands. Then he began to look from section to section. A while later, Sonic reached to the stands with his fast speed. As he began to look over a few stands, someone suddenly bumped into him.

"Oww", Sonic rubbed his head. "Eh?" he realized that someone was invisible.

"Aw, that's just great", a familiar chameleon complained as he became visible.

"Espio?"

"Sonic?"

"Well, long time no see, buddy boy."

"Yeah, very long time."

"Well, um…Enjoying the game?"

"I just got up here. And I'm not here to cheer for the game."

"Why?"

"I need to find Amy."

"Amy?" Sonic widened his eyes in shock. "I'm looking for her too."

"Why?" Espio asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"I…Well, why are you looking for her?"

"I saw the criminal last night", Espio explained.

"You mean the one who has been killing innocent women?" Sonic asked with a gasp.

"Yep", Espio nodded. "Let's look for her together."

"Yeah", the blue hedgehog nodded. They began to look through a few sections.

"So the first team to score the most touchdowns wins?" Amy asked Shadow.

"Yep", the black hedgehog nodded. "Hopefully, I explained everything to ya well enough. It's just that I haven't been watching a lot of football lately. Just focusing on work and college got me off tracked of it."

"It's ok", Amy smiled at him. "I'll figure things out sooner or later."

"Yeah", Shadow smiled with a small pink blush.

The Titans team scored a touchdown. Knuckles began to get angry. He squeezed the life out of his hotdog and growled like a beast. Rouge yelled out a few curse words as she pulled her hair. Amy and Shadow sweatdropped. Geez, was the game that serious? Suddenly, someone behind Amy cleared his throat loudly. She looked back and saw Espio with his arms crossed. Next to him was Sonic who had a worried look on his face.

"Espio?" Amy asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to talk to you", Espio answered. "Before you ask, I snuck in here by using invisibility."

"Sonic?" Amy turned to the blue hedgehog in shock.

"Um, hey", Sonic waved nervously.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just um…Goooo JETS!" Sonic chanted like a cheerleader.

"Hell yeah!" Knuckles looked back and then recognized him. "Sonic, homeboy!!" he gave Sonic a tight and creepy squeezy hug.

"Hi-Too tight!" Sonic coughed for air.

"Oh, hi, Sonic", Rouge looked back and waved. "Long time no see."

"Say, where's your shortie?" Knuckles asked as he released Sonic.

"My what?" Sonic blinked in confusion.

"Sally", Amy answered coldly as she looked back at the field.

"Oh, um, she didn't want to come", Sonic scratched his head. "So I came here by myself."

"Hm", Amy sighed.

"Anyway, I came to tell about last night", Espio finally spoke.

"What happened?" Amy asked as she paid attention to him.

"Me and the others saw the killer last night shortly before midnight."

"You did?!" Amy gasped in shock.

"Huh?" Shadow looked back at Espio curiously.

"Yeah, plus he had a hostage with him", the chameleon explained. "Tried to stop him, but he was too fast. But I found this", he held a plastic bag that had a pistol in it.

"Dude, put that away", Amy snarled and Espio did what he was told. "Man, if anyone sees you with that, then they'll think that you're the criminal."

"Or that you a fool wit a gun", Knuckles added.

"GUN!?" Rouge gasped in fear as she looked around. "W-WHERE!?"

"Nah, nah, it's cool, babe", Knuckles hugged her for comfort.

"Where was the chase taken place?" Amy asked Espio suspiciously.

"Just at Park Avenue", Espio explained. "Just near the movie theater."

"Huh", Amy blinked twice.

"I think we should take another night to look around", Espio suggested.

"Tonight?"

"After the game."

All of the sudden, the Jets called a time out. This has been the second time out so far in the game. A few of the fans started getting irritated from the distraction in the field. Amy looked at Shadow who had a confused look on his face. Sonic examined the look also. He somehow felt like he was up to something. The black hedgehog sighed and looked at Amy.

"You want something?" he asked with a smile.

"Um…I guess a Chaos Cola", Amy rubbed the back of her head shyly.

"You got it", Shadow winked and began to walk through the crowded stands politely.

Amy smiled and waved. Knuckles and Rouge watched the two with smiles on their faces. Those two were starting to develop some friendship, even though they had a crush on each other. Espio stared at Shadow with suspicions in his eyes. He did recall the weird look on Shadow's face when he showed the pistol to Amy. Sonic was doing the same thing as Espio. Only because he felt like he was up to something with Amy. True that they're close friends, he still wanted to protect Amy. However, something was bugging him besides jealousy.

"I'll be back", Sonic said as he followed Shadow.

"Huh?" Amy glared at him confusingly.

Sally was speeding down the streets in anger. She just wanted to choke Sonic for leaving her alone like that! So she couldn't wait longer to get to the stadium. Lots of ideas were crossing through her head. What in the world was she going to do once she finds him? Unluckily, a few cop cars came upon behind. The cars' sirens beeped loudly. Sally shrugged furiously as she stopped the car impatiently.

A little while later, Shadow was standing in a long line at the food court. Most of the people in line were over weighted, so it was hard for him to see what was going on up ahead. He sighed as he looked at his watch. The time read 7:45 in the evening. Suddenly, he heard a short footstep. Shadow looked over to his right. Next to him was Sonic, who looked forward at the line unhappily. How did he get here so fast? Was he following him?

"What are you doing here?" Shadow asked with a couple of blinks.

"Hm?" Sonic turned to him. "Oh, hey. I just thought of getting a snack myself."

"Yeah, well, you have to wait for a long time", Shadow smiled a little and starred at the line.

"Yep…" Sonic glared at the line also.

At first, he swift his eyes to Shadow. Before he was caught, Sonic quickly swift his eyes back to the line. Then Shadow swift his eyes towards him. After that, Sonic swift his eyes back at him. Their smiles suddenly disappeared. They starred at each other with jealousy, anger, and suspicions. Both of them knew what they wanted. They wanted Amy. But both of them were out of the league. Sonic's with Sally and Shadow's pretty shy. Rivalry was building in between them. A short time later, Shadow looked at the long line again. Same with Sonic.

"I may not know you", the blue hedgehog began. "But I'll give you this."

"What?" Shadow said as he turned to him.

"I've been knowing Amy more than you ever had. And she's one of my old friends."

"So what are you trying to say?" Shadow asked, getting annoyed with him already.

"I'm saying…If you ever touch, hurt, or even do something horrible to her…I'll make you pay", Sonic said coldly as he looked at him angrily.

"Hm", Shadow looked back at the line.

"And I'm serious about it too", Sonic added. "Don't hurt her."

"Shouldn't you be worrying about your princess?" Shadow scoffed.

"Yes, he should be", an angry woman's voice said from behind.

Sonic gasped as he looked to his left. It was…Sally. She had her arms crossed and an angry look on her face. Seemingly, she has been listening to the whole conversation. Her boyfriend gulped nervously as Shadow smirked.

"Um, hey, Sal-," Sonic waved.

"We're going home", Sally took his left hand and dragged him away from Shadow.

"No, wait! I wanna see the rest of the game! I swear!" Sonic whined.

"Sucker", Shadow said to himself and continued to wait in line.

Shortly after that, Sonic and Sally were outside of the stadium. Apparently, she was leading her 'man' to the side walls so nobody could see them. She released him and sat on the hood of her car. Her jealousy was getting serious. For Sonic, he began to feel ashamed of himself for leaving her and what he said to Shadow.

"I-," Sonic tried to speak.

"Don't talk", Sally interrupted him rudely. "First you leave me alone to go to this damn game. And then you go up in Shadow's face and tell him to back off from Amy."

"I wasn't telling him to back off. I was only telling him not to do anything wrong to Amy."

"So? Who cares about her anyway?"

"I do."

"Well, I don't."

"Sally-," Sonic sighed heavily.

"Shut it", Sally snapped at him. "Now, I don't want you to talk, speak to, or even look at Amy again. You got it?"

"I…but she's my friend", Sonic explained. "I just don't want to see her getting hurt."

"What about me?" Sally chuckled sarcastically.

"I care about you too, Sal", Sonic said. "You and Amy."

"No, just care about me. Not HER", Sally answered meanly.

Sonic looked away from Sally. It was hard for him to explain what he said to Shadow. All he wanted to do was to protect Amy from harm. It would bring back all of those memories when he'd always saved her from Eggman. Still, Amy's grown up now. She may not want his help. As for Sally, she couldn't stand Sonic thinking about 'her'. Even though they're a couple, they don't really act like it. But it wasn't Sonic's fault. Well, that what she thinks. Obviously, she's the one that's ruining the relationship.

"Let's go home", Sally said calmly.

"Kay", Sonic replied, feeling sad and mad at the same time.

Then the two got in the car. Sonic sat in the back, because he didn't want to be next to his woman. Sally didn't really care. She was only there to get him back home, nothing else. They buckled up in their seatbelts. Then Sally drove away from the football stadium. As Amy and the others were still watching the game, Espio left to wait outside. Shadow finally came back and gave Amy her order. She took it shyly yet nicely.

"Thanks."

"No problem", Shadow said nicely as he looked back at the field.

The Jets had a score of 27 and the Titans were at 24. Looks like they were going to be at head to head…

To Be Continued.


	20. Chapter 20:One Cute Kiss

Ch.20: One Cute Kiss

After the game, all of the fans were disappointed. Apparently, the Titans and the Jets ended up having a tie. It was too bad that they didn't go over time. Nope, they just had to end the game so soon. Too bad though, because after Knuckles took a step out of the stadium, he has been very angry…

"**GRRR!!!! WHY THE HELL DID WE ENDED UP IN A TIE, YO?! THAT'S FUCKIN' BULLSHIT! WE SHOULD'VE WENT OVA TIME!"** the red echidna shouted outloud.

"**COMPLETE BULLSHIT!"** Rouge agreed, since she was upset also.

"Well, it was a close game", Shadow said calmly.

"**CHA, MY ASS!"** the couple glared at him angrily.

"Ok, nevermind", Shadow sweatdropped.

"It is true that we should've went over time", Amy spoke very calmly. "I mean, I was having a lot of fun."

"Well, we're glad that you had fun", Rouge smiled at her nicely.

"For real, that waz tight!" Knuckles smiled at her also.

"_Why are they smiling at her, and not at me?"_ Shadow asked in thought.

"Say, where did my boy Sonic go?" the red echidna looked around.

"Maybe he went the other way", Rouge scratched her head.

"Gee…" Amy looked at the crowded parking lot. "This could take long."

"Oh, well", Rouge opened her bat wings. "I can fly."

"Then…**THEN WHY THE HELL DID I DROVE YOU HERE FOR!?"** Amy yelled furiously.

"I dunno", Rouge pondered with a sweatdropped.

"Peace out, homies!" Knuckles waved as he wrapped his arms around his lover.

"See ya!" Rouge waved and held Knuckles closely.

The white bat took off to the sky as the red echidna cheered happily. Both of them were gone in less than a minute. Shadow and Amy watched them leave quietly. As more people tried to leave the traffic, the two watched patiently. All they could do was staring and not complain about it. However, why were they quiet all of the sudden? Maybe it was because they were left by themselves, with each other. With minutes passing by, the two sat down on the ground and sighed. Then the two hedgehogs looked at each other.

"So, um-No, you first", the two said shyly in union.

"You go first", Shadow said.

"Enjoyed the game?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool", Shadow looked at the traffic again. "I mean, that game was wild."

"Yeah, I'll say", Amy looked at the traffic also. "Next time, I'm gonna wear the right color of clothes for our rooting team."

"At least you weren't the only there without a jersey", Shadow sighed.

"True…true…" Amy swift her eyes side to side.

(Amy's P.O.V.)

_I was nervous. I haven't felt like that before. Just sitting next to a cute guy made me pretty uncomfortable. I mean, I was scared for peace sakes! But he was able to play his cool. That's probably why I started liking him, not just because of his looks. He was nice, calm, and patient. Now that ladies, that's the kind of men you all should be going for. Heh, just kidding. An hour later, we still waited for the traffic to clear off. It looked empty, except there was still more cars trying to leave their parking spots. We were bored…(P.O.V. ends)_

"Now what?" Amy asked. "There's barely a few more cars in the road."

"Well, why not just take off?" Shadow asked nicely.

"Umm…You may never know, but somebody might run into my car without noticing me."

"Huh, that's true."

"What time is it?"

"It's about 11:00", Shadow looked at his Jets watch.

'Sigh', Amy stretched her arms.

"You wanna hang here for a little bit?" Shadow asked with a small blush.

"To do what?" Amy turned to him.

"Just to…talk."

"About what?"

"Anything…"

"Heck…You got a favorite song?" Amy began the new conversation.

"I guess my favorite song is 'Party Like A Rockstar' by Shop Boyz'", Shadow said.

"Yeah, that's a cool song", Amy looked at him with a smile. "Um…My favorite song is 'Big Girls Don't Cry' by Fergie."

"So you're a Fergie fan, huh?" Shadow turned to her with a smile.

"Totally", Amy winked. "It's too bad that I didn't get her album yet. I bet it's still sold out."

"Hmm…." Shadow pondered for a moment. "You got a favorite movie?"

"I like the movie 'Casino Royale'", Amy answered.

"So you like action movies, huh?"

"Action, adventure, romance, and comedy."

"I like action, horror, comedy, and mystery."

"Cool."

"Ok, name your top ten favorite movies."

"Hum…1: Casino Royale. 2: The Pink Panther. 3: The Notebook. 4: Scary Movie 4. 5: Lucky Number Slevin. 6: Mission Impossible 3. 7: Click. 8: My Super Ex-Girlfriend. 9: Talladega Nights-that Ricky Bobby movie. And 10: Night at the Museum."

"Interesting", Shadow nodded.

"Ok, your turn", Amy giggled.

"Shoot…Number 1: Saw III. 2: Black Christmas. 3: Deja vu. 4: The Grudge 2. 5: Hollywoodland. 6: The Covenant. 7: Little Man. 8: Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift. 9: Zodiac. And 10: Final Destination 3," Shadow listed.

"Sounds to me that you like gory films than laughter", Amy raised an eyebrow.

"Well…Scary movies can teach you how to survive", Shadow waved a finger.

"But all of the blood and gore! Yuck!" Amy said in disgust.

"Boy, you're such a scaredy cat", Shadow laughed.

"Scaredy, huh?" Amy narrowed her eyebrows with an evil grin.

"I was just kidding", Shadow winked.

"Sure", Amy scoffed. "Ok um…Favorite color?"

"Red and black. Yours?"

"Red and pink. Favorite food?"

"I don't know. I eat a lot", Shadow rubbed the back of his head.

"Wow", Amy sweatdropped. "Anyway, I just like pizza mostly."

"Say, you ever seen this show called 'Family Guy'?" Shadow asked happily.

"Dude! That's my favorite show!" Amy exclaimed cheerfully. "Hey, you ever blew lots of air in a balloon, and then you suck it all in?"

"Oh, yeah!" Shadow cracked up. "I did that once and I had this weird squeaky voice through the whole day because of that!"

"Dude, I did that once, and everyone called me Donald Duck's sister all day", Amy said.

"Hahahaha!!!" Shadow fell back laughing hard. "That's so funny!"

"No, but here's a funnier story", Amy began.

At 12:00, the two were still outside of the stadium. But they didn't even realize that they were alone in the empty parking lot. All they did was talk, laughed, and enjoyed each other. They were starting to get along very well. There was nothing else that Amy wanted right now. Her only true desire was to be with him, without any intrusions. After their last laugh, the two hedgehogs laid back and looked up at the sky.

"Man, that's a lot of stars", Amy commented.

"I'm guessing that there's about a thousand of them up there", Shadow said.

"I wonder what they're made out of", Amy questioned.

"Well, some say that they're made by angel dust. But scientists say that they're made out of massive luminous balls of plasma."

"What does that mean?"

"We're they say that they're made out of solar energy. And that a star shines because nuclear fusion, and-," Shadow began to explain scientifically.

"Ok, that's enough", Amy sweatdropped.

"Did I twist your mind?" Shadow turned to her with a smirk.

"I just don't like science", the pink hedgehog rolled her eyes. "Or math. They're just so confusing."

"Yeah, I was a genius back at school", Shadow looked up at the sky again.

"Say, how old are you?" Amy turned to him.

"24", replied the black hedgehog.

"Whoa, I'm only 21", Amy said. _"And he's at the same age as Sonic. Wait, why am I thinking about him anyway?"_

Suddenly, someone tapped her head with a shoe. She looked over and saw Espio. He had his arms crossed and still in his jacket and jeans. Amy chuckled nervously as Shadow ignored his presence.

"Hey there, Espio."

"Sorry to interrupt", Espio sighed as he looked away. "But we have to 'solve' a case."

"Ok", Amy sighed lightly as she got up to his feet. "Sorry to leave you behind", she turned to Shadow.

"No, its ok", Shadow got up also. "I'll walk home."

"You sure?" Amy asked kindly. "I mean, all alone in the dark can be scary."

"Especially since there's a killer on the loose", Espio added.

"I can take care of myself", Shadow smiled a little. "Later", he turned around and walked off.

Amy sighed sadly as she looked away. She didn't want Shadow to go. They were just having a good time until Espio came along. Great job, because he just ruined all of the fun! Still, she's a detective. So she had to keep her main focus on the criminal. But that wasn't the end of her and Shadow's moment. The black hedgehog suddenly stopped and turned around. Then he ran to her and gave her a big kiss on her left cheek. Amy's face flashed red as hearts flew out of her head. After Shadow released his lips, he waved and then took off. Espio shook his head slowly after that kiddy scene.

"Ah…I'm so in love", Amy sighed passionately.

"Hey, lover girl. We got work to do", Espio snapped his fingers in her face.

"Aw, man", Amy whined after the lovey-dovey moment was destroyed. "Ok, let's go."

"Good", Espio said. "Cause I have some things to tell you."

Moments later, the two got in Amy's car and drove off. The stadium was left with emptiness in the dark.

(Amy's P.O.V.)

_I know that I had to stay focus. But man, that kiss was so cute. Plus, that was probably my first kiss. Actually, on the cheek. If I get a kiss on the lips, then that's serious. I didn't even know that Shadow even liked me that much. Heck, I liked him from the start. Who knew that a detective like me would get a boyfriend during an important case? Oh, well, I'll see him again when I don't even know it. So then, me and Espio took our direction to the streets. Hopefully, Espio has an idea in his mind. I'm getting tired of this night shift shit!_

To Be Continued.


	21. Chapter 21:The 'Friend' from Secretchat

Ch.21: The 'Friend' from Secretchat

Later that night, Amy and Espio were riding in the car together in the front. As Espio looked out the window next to him, Amy had her eyes on the road. However, she still couldn't think about Shadow. Just after that kiss, she felt like a new woman. Heck, it made her feel happy inside. But Espio didn't care about that. He only wanted her to stay focus on the case.

"Hey", he spoke. "We got business to take care of."

"I know", Amy said, waking up from her daydreaming. "Anyway, what was that you wanted to tell me?"

"About the killer?" Espio asked. "Well, me and the others were leaving the movies until we heard a scream. After that, we chased the criminal all the way to a corner at Park Avenue. And that's where I found this", he explained as he pulled out the pistol in a plastic bag.

"Interesting", Amy nodded. "I guess you're right about getting some work done."

"Then we might as well get to work", Espio looked at her.

"Just the two of us?" Amy raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Vector and the boys are still at home", the chameleon said. "Plus, Cream's still at the hotel. So we might as well get the job done now when it's just the two of us."

"Great", Amy sighed as she lowered her ears. "That's just what I needed."

"Gee, thanks", Espio crossed his arms and looked forward in sarcasim.

The female detective sighed again as she continued driving. Moments later, she began to see Shadow's face in her eyes. His smile, those beautiful red eyes, and his sweet handsome voice. Although, it was only a kiss! But Amy couldn't think of anything else except Shadow. All Amy could do was smile and dream. That is until Espio snapped his fingers right at her face. She gasped as she got into control. Yet again, he ruined a lovey-dovey moment.

"Focus", Espio said impatiently.

"Sorry", Amy blinked to open her eyes.

"Say, you did say something some website, right?" Espio asked to make sure.

"Oh, yeah", Amy nodded. "Secretchat, I remember that. The parents told me about this special friend of Cindy and Jackie's."

"Well, let's look it up", Espio suggested. "We could find some clues about the guy."

"Hopefully, we'll know who it is…" Amy narrowed her eyebrows. "Hey, how are we going to look him up? Neither one of us has a computer. Plus, the library's closed."

"Hmmm…I got it", Espio snapped his fingers with a grin.

A while later, Espio knocked on the front door of a post office. Amy shivered as the chilly wind blew pass her. A sudden moment later, a brown squirrel opened the wooden door. Somehow, Amy recognized him from sometime ago. Only Espio knew who it was.

"Espio?" the squirrel rubbed his eyes. "Long time no see."

"Hey, Ray", Espio winked. "How's it been going?"

"Just working my butt off as usual", Ray stretched his arms. "And who do we have here?" he turned to Amy and smiled.

"I'm-," Amy was about to introduce herself.

"Just a friend", Espio shrugged his shoulders.

"My name is Amy", the pink hedgehog seethed angrily due to Espio's rudeness.

"So what can I do for ya?" Ray asked.

"Do you have a computer in here somewhere?" Espio asked back.

"Well…only the boss can use it", Ray rubbed the back of his head. "But since I'm the only one here, I guess I can let ya use it for a little bit. Why do you need it anyway?"

"Just for some business", Espio said as he held up his detective badge.

A few minutes later, Ray opened a door to the back of the office. Espio and Amy walked in and found a computer at the end of the room. Amy sat down at the computer desk as Espio turned on a lamp next to him. Then they turned on the computer. About five minutes later, Amy reached to **Secretchat**. On the front page, it showed the pictures of Cindy, Jackie, and Alexandria to remember their deaths.

"Wait, Alex was on this website, too?" Amy blinked in shock.

"What do you think?" Espio rolled his eyes sarcastically.

Amy clicked on a picture of Cindy. Her personal page was filled wallpapered hearts in the background along with lots of notes and pictures. On to the right, there was an info box about her. It read:

Name: Cindy Tyler

Age: 17

School: Station Square High

Occupation: Student, captain of the cheerleading squad

Likes: Partying, cheerleading, boys, shopping, making new friends, getting paid, music, and puppies

Dislikes: Fake friends, homework, break ups, losing those around her, bullies, not getting paid, boring music, mean teachers

Goals/Dreams: To graduate high school, having a family of her own, having lots of money, to move to Los Angeles

Life: September 13th 1989-April 25th 2006

Amy went and clicked on her friends' list. Most of them were high school students from her school. Obviously, a lot of them were blondes (except Jackie), because she was a blonde. All of them were juniors or seniors. However, one of her friends didn't have a photo shop of them. A question mark was shown next to someone named 'Grim'. Amy clicked on the name and went to his page. As she got there, she overlooked at the wallpaper decorated with blood, skulls, and odd Japanese scriptures. The detective scroll down to his friends list. All of them were filled with women between the ages of 16-29. The first females on the first page were Cindy, Jackie, and Alexandria. Both Amy and Espio couldn't believe their eyes. As Amy looked at his profile, it read:

Name: Grim

Age:?

School:?

Occupation: Hustler/Pimp/Player/Banker

Likes: Getting what he wants, sex, money, women, making others do what he says, taking control of anyone he desires, and selling women

Dislikes: Cops, those who gets in his way, plans that don't go well, waiting for his 'employees', waiting to get 'paid'

Goals/Dreams: Getting all of the women he wants

Life:?

After reading his info, Amy gasped. Is that why Cindy, Jackie, and Alexandria died? Because of not giving what he wants? Not only that he's the criminal, but he's also a disgusting dog! Just seeing those 'occupations' made Amy frustrated. And to think that all men were nice and polite to women. But she was wrong, dead wrong. Espio raised an eyebrow in confusion. What was his real name? A lot of questions weren't answered just yet.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me", Espio shook his head. "The criminal's a pimp?"

"That's just stupid", Amy growled. "I just want to take that guy down and fast."

"Still, we don't know where he lives. Nor do we know his real name."

"I guess that's why he killed those three. All of them worked for him as whore slaves", Amy said with an unhappy face.

"I'm starting to guess that they didn't want to do anymore of his dirty work, so he killed them", Espio added.

"Still, Cindy and Jackie were just kids trying to graduate high school. As for Alex, she struggled to get to college. Why would that guy just take advantage of young women?" Amy shook her head.

"I guess because their too innocent for his crimes. And that they don't really know how to live for themselves", Espio said. "Plus, they don't get charged much by the age. So he makes them do the work just to keep him out of trouble."

"We have got to find that guy", Amy got up from the seat. "Otherwise, more women will get killed."

"Hmm", Espio turned to her with a nod.

Meanwhile, near Little Street, a 20 year old woman was walking down a silent sidewalk. She had short cut black hair, had badge colored skin, and dark green eyes. She wore a red tube top, a short blue mini-skirt, and long red boots. Apparently, she was looking for someone. But doesn't she even know that the killer is on the loose? Looks like she didn't. Just as she passed an empty corner, someone made a loud 'psst' sound. She stopped and looked to her left. Then she tip-toed into a dark alley.

Suddenly, she stopped. A few feet in front of her was a man dressed in all black without showing his face. A smile came upon her face. It seemed that she was able to recognize him. The man opened his arms nicely for a hug. Without hesitation, the woman walked to him and began to kiss him. Passion and love was flowing through them. After two minutes of their kiss, they released their lips.

"Did you missed me?" the woman asked with a smirk.

"You know I did", the man chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"What do you want to do now?" the woman asked in lust in her voice.

"I think I got an idea", the man giggled slyly as he took her left hand.

The two left the alley and got in a red sportscar. After that, they closed the front doors and fastened their seatbelts. The woman gave her lover another long kiss and then released him. Then the man started the car and drove off. He wrapped his right arm around the woman as she rested her head on his shoulder. She sighed happily as she hugged him around the waist. But she didn't know that all of the happiness would soon come to an end. In the trunk, a primary victim (which Espio saw the other night), was tied up from head to toe. She mumbled help with a duck tape on her mouth. Still, the couple didn't even hear her. All she could do was shut up and wait for her death…

To Be Continued…


	22. Chapter 22:Remembering an Old Friend

Ch.22: Remembering an Old Friend

(Amy's P.O.V.):

_Monday finally came, and me, Cream, and the gang went to the funeral. It was held for McKenzie. Of course, most of the students from Cream's school were there. Not to mention, some of them looked like they wanted to attend the funeral only to skip the first two hours of school. However, I didn't worry about it that much. Cream, the Chaotix, and I stood at the front row in the middle section. I took one last look at the dead teenager. Her long brown hair was beautiful, the long white gown matched her pale skin, and the brown coffin matched her hair color. I looked over to my right and saw Cream with tears in her eyes. Then I looked back at the grave. Just seeing a young woman from high school dead did make me feel sad. In my mind, I had to get serious._ (P.O.V. ends)

"So we say goodbye to the beautiful McKenzie", said the same priest from the other funeral. "May her souls rest in peace."

As the burials closed McKenzie's coffin, a few people began to cry. Then the servants lowered the coffin into the grave. Behind Amy, McKenzie's parents hugged each other with soft sobs. Cream began to cry also. Amy wrapped her right arm around her for comfort. But then, she looked over to a section next to her's. She saw Sonic and Sally, dressed in black, watching the scene silently. Of course, Sally didn't have a sad look on her face since she didn't care about the little girl. So Amy could tell that Sonic wanted to come to the funeral. Still, why were they there?

"_Wait, what are they doing here?"_ Amy thought with hatred. _"I mean, since when did they give a damn about all of this?"_

**(BGM plays 'Friends Forever' by Vitamin C)**

After the funeral, most of the people left the graveyard. As for Cream, she sat in front of her best friend's tomb and sobbed. She covered her eyes and let tears drop to the ground. Amy was further behind her watching her sadly. Suddenly, she heard some thundering. She looked up and noticed the sky was turning bright gray. It looked like that it was going to rain again like any other times like this. The Chaotix were waiting for Amy at their car. Truly, they felt sorry for Cream about losing one of her best friends. As the wind blew in Amy's hair slowly, she sighed with a few tears. A flashback appeared in her mind.

_**And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives  
Where we're gonna be when we turn 25  
I keep thinking times will never change  
Keep on thinking things will always be the same  
But when we leave this year we won't be coming back  
No more hanging out cause we're on a different track  
And if you got something that you need to say  
You better say it right now cause you don't have another day**_

(Amy's P.O.V.):

_Damn, this isn't my first time seeing Cream like this. Actually, this is the second time so far. Remember that it told ya that all of our friends were growing up? Well, turns out that I missed one. The one was named Vanilla, Cream's mother. About 3 years ago, she suffered a serious case of breast cancer. The doctors had no idea where it came from, but the sickness was serious. After Cream heard all of that, she skipped school for about 5 months in order to take care of her mom. However, she still had to do some homework at home, including some tests. All of that last until I volunteered to take care of Vanilla for Cream. She clearly accepted and went back to school. But then…Something happened. Her mother couldn't breathe very well and she was suddenly having chest problems. I panicked as I took her to the hospital._

_**Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down  
These memories are playing like a film without sound  
And I keep thinking of that night in June  
I didn't know much of love  
But it came too soon  
And there was me and you  
And then we got real blue  
Stay at home talking on the telephone  
We would get so excited and we'd get so scared  
Laughing at ourselves thinking life's not fair  
And this is how it feels**_

_While I was at the hospital, Cream was still at school. Two hours passed after I took Vanilla to get some help. After I waited, a nurse came up to me. She told me that they did their best, but she didn't make it. Sure I was angry at them, but I couldn't blame them. At least, I tried. Although, I failed. I failed Cream, I failed Vanilla, and I even failed myself. It was so nerve wrecking to hear the bad news._

_**Chorus:**_

_**As we go on  
We remember  
All the times we  
Had together  
And as our lives change  
Come Whatever  
We will still be  
Friends Forever**_

_Later on after the news, I cried. I couldn't believe that I didn't save Cream's mom. I felt like a loser, trying to bring something good for both of them. But no, I failed, like a fool. That night, I told Cream about what happened. After that, she cried until she couldn't breathe. She went to her mom's room and cried on her chest. I watched with sadness and pain. Even though I tried, I still failed. I'm starting to wonder if Cream hates me deep inside. I mean, her mother died on her birthday on December19th. Sometime later, I told the Chaotix and everyone else about the bad news. A few days later, we went to her funeral. And it resembled exactly like McKenzie's, but it was different. The participants were all old friends from the past and now. Even Sonic and Sally were there…_

_**So if we get the big jobs  
And we make the big money  
When we look back now  
Will our jokes still be funny?  
Will we still remember everything we learned in school?  
Still be trying to break every single rule**_

_Minutes after that funeral, we all cried. Vanilla was such a good woman with a great spirit of kindness. No matter what happened, she was still able to help us pull through our obstacles. She helped me believe in myself, she helped Cream to become more smarter, and helped the others get stronger by the heart. Not all of us had parents, so she was a mother figure to all of us. Still, we wished that she didn't have to go. Vector sobbed because he had a huge crush on her and never confessed to her. Charmy cried since he was going to miss those sweets that Vanilla made for parties or just for fun. Mighty had tears because he always loved her smile. And for Espio, he had tears too. He never had a family after his parents and grandparents died when he was only 7. They were killed by Eggman's robots a long time ago. I remembered that he used to be a jerk until Vanilla showed her kindness to him. Strangely enough, he stopped being mean and acted cool. However, he did develop some gulibleness._

_**Will little brainy Bobby be the stockbroker man?  
Can Heather find a job that won't interfere with her tan?  
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye  
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly  
And this is how it feels**_

_**(Chorus)**_

_For the rest of us, we cried because we loved her dearly. Her smile, her laughs, and her joy. She was an angel from above. Thanks to her, we were able to start over with better lives. And heck, she even helped me get over Sonic after he went with Sally. I'll never forget her advice. She told me to never give up, smile, and keep going. And…I did that. All of that just for her. Since then, I haven't thinked about Sonic after that day. When we left the funeral, we separated to our own paths…We all changed so much. Not only to forget about Vanilla's death, but to make ourselves happy. It was all thanks to her. Till this day, we would never forget her. Even Cream, since she feels that she wouldn't have another birthday ever again. However, I told her that she didn't have to forget about her aging process. Vanilla wanted her to move on and be happy. So she took that choice. That's how I took her in and let her stay in my hotel room._

_**La, la, la, la:  
Yeah, yeah, yeah  
La, la, la, la:  
We will still be friends forever**_

_Even though that it happened in the past, it still lies within us. Vanilla is in our hearts forever…and ever… (P.O.V. ends)_

Amy walked to Cream as the clouds darkened. She sat next to the crying rabbit and hugged her. Sure that she was sad, but she didn't want to show her tears that much. She's 21, and she had to be brave for the both of them.

"Why does he do this?" Cream sniffled.

"Who?" Amy released her and starred curiously.

"God", Cream sighed. "Why does he keep taking everyone away from me?"

"No, he doesn't", Amy patted her on the shoulders. "He does not. Sometimes, when people were meant to die, then God takes the time to do the work. But he doesn't do it on purpose. He only does it for the rights of others. However, he's not the only one that takes lives away from Earth. Satan does too. So it was him that took McKenzie away."

"And mom?" Cream blinked with falling tears.

"Well…I'm not really sure", Amy looked away sadly. "It's really hard for me to explain."

"Is mom watching me up there in heaven?" the rabbit asked nervously, yet sadly.

"Of course she is", Amy smiled. "Those who go to heaven always watch their loved ones. Friends, family members, everyone. So she's watching all of us, including the Chaotix. And I bet McKenzie's watching you too."

_**Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?  
Can we survive it out there?  
Can we make it somehow?  
I guess I thought that this would never end  
And suddenly it's like we're women and men  
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us 'round?  
Will these memories fade when I leave this town  
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye  
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly**_

_**(Chorus; repeats 3x)**_

Cream was suddenly silent. Her tears dried a little and a short smile came up on her face. She wiped the tears off of her face and looked at Amy. The pink hedgehog winked with a smirk. Both of them got up from the dark green grass and walked away from the grave. All thanks to Amy, Cream felt confident. Even though she has lost to important people in her life, she was still able to move on. Now she can smile and keep going, just like Amy. They both had different tasks ahead of them. So they had to keep their heads up and focused. No matter what…

To Be Contiued…


	23. Chapter 23:Sonic's Concern

Ch.23: Sonic's Concern

After the small talk, Cream ran to Amy's car. Vector and Mighty gave her a big hug to cheer her up. Charmy smiled as Espio patted her on the head. Amy stopped and watched her comrades happily. It was good to see her friends together like that. She only wished that everyone could get along like that.

"Amy", a familiar male voice said from behind.

"Huh?" Amy turned around and found Sonic starring at her worriedly.

"I thought, um…that you might need this", the blue hedgehog held a black umbrella over their heads. "It's about to rain."

"You sure?" the female hedgehog asked as she took the umbrella gently.

"Heck, I got a few more at home", Sonic scratched his head.

"…Thanks", Amy turned around.

"Wait", Sonic spoke up.

"Eh?" Amy looked back at him.

From the looks in Sonic's eyes, he seemed scared. Not only that, but also worried. This was Amy's first time seeing Sonic like that. Somehow, she felt something different from him. However, something was bugging her about his feelings. What was wrong with him?

"You alright?" Amy finally asked and Sonic woke up.

"Not really", Sonic shook his head. "Look, I know that you're really focused on the case, but…"

"But what?" Amy blinked.

"You do realize that you're chasing a dangerous criminal, right?" Sonic suddenly asked softly.

"No duh", Amy rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"Still…" Sonic tried to speak but was somewhat scared to say something.

"What is it?" Amy asked nicely.

Suddenly, Sonic turned his back at her. It seemed rude of him, but he didn't do it on purpose. He was meddling with his fingers nervously as he took small breaths. Amy raised an eyebrow in confusion. Why in the world would he be acting like that? Things were getting weird between those two. Before long, Amy took a small step back.

"Um…"

"Amy", Sonic quickly turned around and hugged her tightly.

Amy gasped. He has never done that to her before, so it was somewhat strange to her. A small red blush appeared on her cheeks as she swift her eyes to the side. Sonic shut his eyes with tears. All of the sudden, he remembered how Amy would always hugged him like that. But now, it was his turn to give the big hug of love. Speaking of love, is that what he was trying to show her? The scene was getting awkward. After a long minute of silence, Sonic released her and glared at her with sadness. Amy blinked confusingly.

"Just promise me this…" Sonic spoke softly yet sadly.

"What?" Amy asked curiously.

"Please, Amy. Promise me that you won't get hurt. Or killed", Sonic answered.

"What?" Amy widened her eyes in shock.

"Just promise me", Sonic replied with tears in his eyes. "I don't want to lose you."

"Ah…" Amy swift her eyes around with a red blush. "I'll be careful."

Seconds later, Sonic closed his eyes and leaned for a kiss. Amy looked up at him with a small gasp in shock. Before they could've shared their romantic moment, Amy placed a finger tip on Sonic's lips. He stopped and opened his eyes. And he was just about an inch away before getting that kiss! But Amy had a gesture of worry inside of her. There was one thing that they almost forgotten…

"What are you doing?" Amy asked nervously.

"Oh, um…" Sonic backed up shyly. "Well, I, uh…"

"You do realize that you already have a girlfriend, right?" Amy asked in a paranoid tone.

"I know, but…You think that you can help me out?" Sonic said nervously.

"What is it?"

"It's Sally. She's always been so snobby and mean. No matter how hard I try to make her happy, she thinks it gets everything worse. She mostly blames things on me."

"How long has this been going on?"

"About a couple of years. It wasn't bad then, but now…It's getting worse."

"Well…Maybe she's the one to blame. I mean, that's sad that you're with this girl."

"Yeah, but I either have to stick with her, or be alone. Have you ever felt like you loved someone, but then they just toss you into a great hole of darkness?" Sonic asked sadly.

"Hmm", Amy lowered her head. "That's funny, cause I felt the same thing when you left me for Sally", she looked at him with anger and sadness.

"Ahh", Sonic gasped in shock.

"So tell me something that I don't know", Amy turned around and stomped off.

"Amy, wait!" Sonic called out for her. "Just tell me how to keep my relationship together!"

Amy stopped with a little sense of sadness. She was surprised that he would say something to his old fan girl. And yet, he did hug her like he actually cared about her. Something told her that he wasn't ready to give up on Sally. They've been lovers for a very long time, and he didn't want to be alone. But he didn't really think about how Amy felt when he left her. She shook her head with a sigh. Then she looked back at her old crush.

"You ever tried to get a counselor, or maybe some pills for her?" she asked outloud.

"Amy…" Sonic slapped his forehead. "Even if I suggested those ideas, she'll definitely disagree with all of that."

"Well…just keep everything top side for her", Amy replied as the wind blew. "I mean, if it continues on, then that means she just loves you so that way she can hurt you."

Sonic widened his eyes in shock as the wind blew towards him also. Amy began to walk to her car. Cream was waiting in the passenger's seat in Amy's car as she yawned. The Chaotix watched the whole scene in the car so Amy wouldn't notice them. A few raindrops dripped to the grass. Suddenly, Amy stopped. Sonic paid attention to her like she was about to say something else.

"Oh, and if you don't want her", Amy looked back again. "Then leave her."

Sonic gasped. He couldn't believe that Amy would say something like that. Sure enough, she did her best to help him out. But those to last words sure did surprised him. More raindrops fell from the sky. Then the process continued slowly and calmly. Amy went to her car and got in. She threw the umbrella to the backseat as she buckled up. Cream was already buckled up, but asleep. A moment later, Amy turned on the ignition and left the graveyard. The Chaotix followed her.

"_If you don't want her, then leave her…"_ those words echoed in Sonic's ears gently.

With nothing else to do, Sonic walked away to find Sally. However, no one knew that the killer was watching them through the whole time. From the funeral, to Sonic and Amy's talk, everything. He saw everything while he was sitting in a big oak tree without any witnesses. Of course, he was dressed in all black again. He then watched Sonic get in Sally's car and then it took off. A few leaves flew off of the tree branches slightly in the wind.

"Hmph", the killer scoffed. "Pathetic…"

To Be Continued.


	24. Chapter 24:Alexandra's Cousin

Ch.24: Alexandra's Cousin

After Amy and the gang left the graveyard, they went to the police department. They figured that they should tell them about the criminal chase and what they found out about the 'main man'. The six detectives got out of their cars and went inside the brick like building. A while later, they went to the conference room where they found Officer Jeff and Kyle drinking coffee. Both of them turned to the creatures in surprise.

"Hey, guys", Kyle waved. "What brings ya here?"

"We thought that we give you a little info on the criminal", Amy spoke.

"Oh, speaking of that…" Jeff led her to the back of the room. "This man would like to speak to you."

He greeted Detective Rose to a young man that looked like the age of 27. However, he looked somewhat familiar to Amy. She clearly recognized the short bob cut black hair, the uniform to 'Carl's Car Shop', and his height. Apparently, it was the same man from the car shop of course. He smiled with a wave.

"You", Amy pointed awkwardly.

"Hello", the man nodded. "How's the car doing?"

"Just fine", Amy said.

"Amy, this man wants to speak with you privately", Office Jeff explained.

"Ok", Amy nodded.

The cop offered her a seat at a round table where the man was sitting at. Amy sat down across from him. After the cop left, everything was silent. Both Amy and the man starred at each other curiously. A sudden moment later, Amy took a deep breath.

"So what brings you here?" she asked calmly.

"Well, I came here to talk to you about my cousin", the man replied.

"First of all, what's your name?"

"Jonathon. Jonathon Fisher", he shook her hand.

"Wait, Fisher?" Amy blinked. "You mean, Alex is your cousin?"

"Yes", the man sighed sadly. "She's one of my few relatives that lived around here."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. In fact, I didn't know anything about her funeral until I read the paper a few days ago."

"I see. Well, anyway, what do you need to know abut your cousin?"

"Like…How did she die?" Jonathon asked nicely.

"She was killed on April 26th sometime after 10:00 in the evening", Amy explained.

"Do you know who did it?"

"Some guy named Grim."

"Grim…I've never heard that name before."

"Well, let's say he's her 'special unknown friend'."

"That's weird. She never told me about this friend of hers. Actually, I haven't talked to her in 3 months."

"…Well, this part of the story might upset you, but…"

"Tell me", Jonathon said calmly. "I really wanted to know everything. Everything that you know about them."

"Your cousin…was working for a hustler. A pimp to be exact", Amy sighed slowly.

"No way…" Jonathon widened his eyes.

"And the fact that you said that you haven't spoken to her for about 3 months…Well, it turns out that she's been doing his dirty work."

"How in the world did she end up in such a ridiculous job? That is so not like her."

"Here's the thing; she met Grim on a website called '**Secretchat**'."

"I don't think I've heard about that site before. Plus, my computer doesn't even have internet anymore."

"Well, when they met, they quickly became friends. And I'm starting to put together that he must've offered her a chance to get all of the money that she needed."

"So that means she's been….prostituting?" Jonathon asked in worry.

"Yep", Amy nodded slowly. "For about 3 months. Then I'm guessing that she didn't want to do the work anymore. Or, she didn't get enough money to pay him. She was found dead at the back of Starlight Motel sometime after 10:15."

"Oh…Then how did he kill her?" Jonathon asked softly.

"He shot her", Amy answered. "Right up to her chest. The bullet was pretty deep too."

"With what kind of a gun?"

"Just a regular pistol, that's all."

"Oh…"

"That's all I know so far…"

"Well, I appreciate it, Ms. Rose", Jonathon looked at her with a small smile.

"Please", Amy waved her hand no. "Just call me Amy."

Meanwhile, Espio was just telling the two cops about what happened a couple of nights ago. They nodded as he explained the details. Then Espio was finished with the story. He sat down in a chair because his feet started hurting. Cream had her eyes widened through the whole time. She started getting scared, very scared. She began to wonder if she was next...

"So the guy looks about 5'6 tall, looked like he weighed about 130 pounds, and wears black?" Officer Jeff asked.

"Yep", Espio nodded.

"We better tell the mayor and the rest of the town about this", Kyle suggested. "It could keep everyone on a look out."

"Oh, and one more thing", Espio added. "He wears a large black hoodie and the hood covers his face completely."

"We'll be aware of that", Jeff nodded.

Suddenly, the back room door opened. Amy was the first one to walk out. Jonathon followed with confidence and trust for her.

"Thanks for telling me everything", Jonathon said.

"No problem", Amy stopped and turned to him.

"Oh, yeah", Jonathon snapped his fingers as if he remembered something. "I almost forgot", he reached in his left pocket.

After a long minute of searching, he finally pulled out a clear white envelope. He then gave it to Amy. At first, she had a confused look on her face until she looked at the back. In the middle section, it read her name in perfect cursive hand writing that she could actually read. Jonathon giggled to himself.

"What?" Amy looked up at him.

"I think the 'new guy' is starting to like ya", the young man winked.

"Huh?" Amy widened her eyes with a blush.

"See ya later", Jonathon walked pass her and left the room.

For some reason, Amy was getting nervous to open the envelope. Espio shook his head in annoyance. Everyone else was silent as they leaned forward a little. Amy ignored them as she gulped. Her heart began to pound slowly and loudly. She slowly ripped the top off and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She opened it and read it. The note said:

_Meet me at the park at eight o'clock tonight._

_Love, Shadow_

Amy couldn't believe her eyes. The note was from her own crush Shadow! But why did he want to meet her at the park? True he does have to work, but why so late? All of the sudden, Amy couldn't wait until tonight. Still, she wondered why he wanted to meet her there. A smile came up on her face as she blushed a little. She turned around and strangely found everyone (except Espio) starring at her up close. She sweatdropped as her smile became an angry frown.

"What?" Amy asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Who's the note from?" Mighty asked slyly as he pointed to the note.

"No one", Amy quickly hid the note in her pocket.

"Sure", Charmy and Vector looked at each other.

"Ok, um, I'm outta here", Amy said as she tip-toed away from the group. Then she zipped out of the room with flying paper and falling chairs all over the room.

"Hey, Amy, wait up!" Cream called out as she followed her.

The Chaotix, Jeff, and Kyle remained in the room with sweatdrops. Then they started cleaning up the mess.

To Be Continued.


	25. Chapter 25:Kissing Under the Sunset

Ch.25: Kissing Under the Sunset

Later that evening, Amy was found in the living room watching TV. All day long, she felt uneasy and nervous about meeting Shadow. Of course she has a crush on him, and he kissed her on the cheek. But what does he want? Was he going to tell her something important? Or was he going to surprise her with a different kiss? She didn't know. And yet, she couldn't stay focus through the whole day. Now she was looking at the note again as the television started showing a game show called 'Family Feud'. She sighed quietly to herself.

"Um, Amy?" Cream walked up to her. "Are you feeling ok?"

"Not really", Amy replied, still looking at the note. "I mean, I couldn't stop looking at this letter all day."

"What does it say?"

"It says that Shadow wants to meet me at the park at 8:00."

"Well, its 6:00 now", Cream looked at her blue watch on her right wrist.

"Ugh, but I can't wait that long!" Amy complained as she narrowed her eyebrows.

"Be patient, Amy", Cream took a few steps back in fear. "Just keep thinking about Shadow."

"Yeah, yeah", Amy sighed harshly as she looked up to the ceiling.

"_Hmm…I'm wondering why Shadow wants to meet her myself",_ Cream thought to herself. _"I mean, what does he want with her?"_

A couple of hours later, Amy feel asleep on the couch. Cream was asleep on the floor since she got tired of watching some stupid game shows. Suddenly, Amy's watch began to beep loudly. She jumped out of her sleep and looked at it. She then gasped as she read the time was exactly eight o'clock. Slowly and patiently, she stepped over Cream and tip toed to her bedroom. A few minutes later, she came out of the room quietly. She was in a white tanktop with a red heart in the middle, dark blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. After a while, she tip-toped out of the room and left Cream alone and asleep.

Twenty minutes later, Amy stopped at the park. She bent over and took exhausting breaths. Just running in a hurry from her hotel did make her pretty tired. After she took her last breath, she stood up straight and began to look around. There was no sign a Shadow anywhere. So she had no choice but to look for him. At first, she walked to the clean wooden bench. He wasn't there. Then she went up the hill and he wasn't there either. Following that, she started searching for some more.

Just after ten minutes of searching, Amy couldn't find Shadow. But then she looked up ahead. She saw Shadow looking down at the ledge of a stoned bridge. He was alone and silent. He was wearing a white sleeveless shirt and dark blue jeans and blue shoes. The pink hedgehog blinked twice in surprise. The wind blew Shadow's quills to the side smoothly and slowly as he sighed.

_"Ok, this is it",_ Amy thought to herself bravely. _"Just walk up to him, say hi, and whatever else. Whatever you do, don't get too excited, girl. You can do it. You're 21 years old for peace sakes!"_

Taking a deep breath, Amy walked to him slowly. He was still standing by himself and looking down at the bright blue lake. He sat his elbows on the edge and rested his chin on his palms. Obviously, he was tired of waiting for Amy. Closer and closer, Amy was getting towards him. She gulped as her heart pounded excitedly.

"Oh, god", she said to herself.

Suddenly, Shadow turned around to leave the place. He stopped and saw Amy as she stopped walking. At that time, Amy's face blushed pure red. Right now, she was facing a cute hedgehog as he starred back. Again, the wind began to blow softly. Amy gulped again and Shadow smiled.

"What took ya so long?" he asked nicely.

"Sorry about that", Amy scratched the back of her head. "I accidentally fell asleep as I waited to see you."

"Oh, I see."

"You weren't here long, were you?"

"Not too long, I guess."

"Oh…So, why did you want to meet me here?"

"Come here", Shadow turned around and walked back to the bridge.

"What?" Amy ran up next to him.

"See that sunset?" the black hedgehog pointed at the orange and yellow sun.

"Yeah, why?" Amy shaded her eyes to see clearly.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Shadow giggled.

"Uh-huh", Amy nodded.

(_**BGM plays 'Lost without U' by Robin Thicke**_)

As Shadow continued starring at the sunset, Amy looked over at him. He rested his hands on his palms again and smiled. A small sigh came out of his mouth peacefully. However, Amy couldn't stop blushing. Watching him smile did make her very shy, and yet she was standing next to him. At first, she swift her eyes back and forth until she starred at the sun.

**(Chorus):**

_**Im lost without u  
Cant help myself  
How does it feel  
2 know that I love u baby**_

**(Repeats 2x)**

A small gulp went down in Amy's throat. This was her very, very, VERY first time being with a man in a romantic setting. She rolled her eyes around so she wouldn't pay attention to Shadow. Although, his handsome looks kept her distracted from that sort of plan. He was just drop dead gorgeous! It seemed like he was the cutest guy on Earth, based on Amy's opinion. Still, she could NOT stop being nervous. She felt something inside of her and she just waited for something to happen.

**(Verse 1):**

_**Tell me how u love me more  
And how u think Im sexy baby  
That u dont want nobody else  
U dont want this guy u dont want that guy u wanna**_

Amy fiddled with her fingers as she finally looked away from Shadow. The pressure was building up in her. What's next? Are they just going to stare at the sunset all day? She was very unsure of what was about to happen. Even so, she tried her best to keep her cool. Unexpectedly, she felt an arm wrapped around her shoulders. She was then pulled close to Shadow slowly. Now Amy was REALLY nervous. Her face turned completely scarlet red. The crush sighed again as he rested his head onto her right shoulder.

_**Touch yourself when u see me  
Tell me how u love my body  
And how I make u feel baby  
U wanna roll with me u wanna hold with me  
U wanna stay warm and get out of the cold with me  
I just love 2 hear u say it  
It makes a man feel good baby  
Tell me u depend on me  
I need 2 hear it**_

"I missed you", Shadow said softly.

"Um…me too", Amy said nervously.

"I'm really glad that you came", the other hedgehog said as he hugged her around her shoulders gently.

"Uh-huh, me too", Amy gasped nervously. "Say, why did you invite me here?"

"Just to see you again", Shadow replied nicely. "I mean, I couldn't stop thinking about you after that day at the game."

"Well…Same here", Amy smiled.

**(Chorus, repeats 2x):**

_**Im lost without u  
Cant help myself  
How does it feel  
2 know that I love u baby**_

The sunset began to look more beautiful than before. Maybe because the two hedgehogs were close to each other. Well, Amy could tell to be exact. As for Shadow, he was enjoying being with her. Amy wrapped her arms around Shadow's neck nervously and lovingly. Somehow, Shadow blushed pink on his cheeks with a blink. The sky had mixed colors of orange, pink, and purple.

**(Verse 2):**

_**Baby youre the perfect shape  
Baby youre the perfect weight  
Treat me like my birthday  
I want it this way I want it that way I want it  
Tell me u dont want me 2 stop**_

Shadow suddenly released Amy as she did the same. He turned to her with a cute smile on his face. Amy looked at him confusingly and nervously. Then he reached into his right pocket patiently. After that, he pulled out a golden necklace with a pink heart hanging down from it. Amy gasped in shock. Shadow smirked as he wrapped the jewelry around her neck nicely. When he got done, Amy looked at it. The pink heart had her name printed on it in perfect cursive handwriting in a gold color. Also, it had glitter on it that sparkled in the bright sunset.

_**Tell me it would break your heart  
That u love me and all my dirty  
U wanna roll with me u wanna hold with me  
U wanna make fires and get Norwegian wood with me  
I just love 2 hear u say it  
It makes a man feel good baby**_

"It's beautiful", Amy smiled at Shadow.

"I was able to save some money to buy that for you", Shadow rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, I like it", Amy winked.

"Amy, I uh…" Shadow to speak was too shy, again.

"Huh?" Amy tipped her head to the side slowly.

"I…I…Shoot, well, I, uh…" Shadow swift his eyes from side to side.

"What is it?" Amy asked with a short laugh.

"I…." Shadow spoke and gulped hardly. "I love you", he blushed.

"…You do?" Amy widened her eyes in shock.

"Mm-hmm", Shadow nodded with a blush across his face. "I mean, I fell in love with you when I first laid my eyes on you."

"Wow", Amy rubbed the back of her head. "Because, I felt the same way about you."

"Cool", Shadow shrugged his shoulders. "So, um…Are we going to do it?"

"Do what?" Amy asked curiously.

"You know", Shadow smiled. "Kiss?"

"Eh….I'll give it a shot", Amy replied shyly.

"I'll go easy on you", Shadow winked.

"Ok", Amy nodded.

**(Final Chorus; repeats multiple times)**

_**Im lost without u  
Cant help myself  
How does it feel  
2 know that I love u baby...**_

The pink hedgehog closed her eyes slowly. Shadow then came up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Cautiously, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Then Shadow closed his eyes too. He slowly leaned down for a kiss. In time, Amy got prepared, even though her heart thumped against her chest slowly. Finally, Shadow had his lips on hers. Amy quickly opened her eyes and founded Shadow's closed. After all, this was her first kiss with her first actual boyfriend. Through those years of work, she finally found a man of her dreams. Amy pressed her lips onto Shadow's gently as she shut her eyes again. The sun suddenly set down from the sky completely. Then the sky got a little darker. However, that didn't really matter to the two lovers. They continued kissing passionately, until they heard a loud grumble.

"What in the world?" Shadow asked as he released his lips.

"I'm hungry", Amy chuckled nervously as she looked down at her stomach. "I forgot to eat dinner today.

"Hmm", Shadow smiled and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "Come on, I'll take you to get something to eat."

"Ok", Amy hopped a little.

Politely, Shadow offered a hand. Then Amy took it. They began to walk away from the bridge. A sudden moment later, Shadow gave Amy a playful punch on her left arm. Resulting that, Amy shoved him to the side slowly. He complained "Hey!" as he pushed her playfully. After that, Amy knocked him to the ground by using her hip. She gasped as she looked to see if he was ok. Just then, Shadow got back up to his feet. Amy yelped as she ran away from him.

"I'm gonna get you", Shadow called out as he chased her.

"Catch me if you can!" Amy hollered out with tease.

Later on, they left the park. Now, they became a couple…

**Song Ends.**

To Be Contiuned…


	26. Chapter 26:Meeting a Survivor

Ch.26: Meeting a Survivor

The next night was on a rainy Tuesday. Inside a dark attic, a young Latin woman was held hostage. She woke up and sat up from her sleep. She then found herself on a soft white bed. She still had on her short pink dress but only with a few cuts at the bottom of it. At first she looked around, and then looked at her hands. Both of her beautiful light brown hands were tied with tight rope. She also had a piece of duck tape on her lips so she wouldn't yell out for help. So she began to think. For a few minutes, she struggled her hands to get free. That didn't help. When she lay back on a pillow, she suddenly felt something. She looked under it and found a sharp boning knife that shined under the lamp's light. An idea came up into her mind.

Little while later, the woman was able to cut the rope lose. Then she slowly and carefully removed the duck tape off of her mouth. A large sigh came out of her mouth as she shook her head to get the sweat out of her long brown hair. She looked at her hands. All of her red nails were cut short and she could barely see a few bruises all over them. As she got out of the bed and took a step on the wooden floor, she suddenly held her thighs in pain. It was very strange to her. All long as she could remember was only darkness. Turns out that she was unconscious for about a few days. And what else could've happened to her? She didn't want to think about it. For the second time, she got up, held herself together, and walked to the door.

The beautiful female touched the door to see if it wasn't hot. Actually, it was at its normal temperature. Slowly and quietly, she opened the door. However, she stopped. She was now standing in a long dark hallway with a few light bulbs in the ceiling. On the walls were cuts and carvings from various knives. Along that, there were blood stains on them for decoration. The Hispanic woman covered her mouth so she wouldn't gasp. Then she started walking down the silent hallway cautiously and easily.

As the woman was about to walk down the stairs, she suddenly stopped. Downstairs in a long hallway, the front door was opened. A different young lady with short black hair came in, wearing a very short green dress and heels. Behind her, a familiar man in black walked in. He closed the door behind him as the woman sighed. The Latin woman covered another gasp after she observed the man in black. It was the same man who kidnapped her down at Park Avenue.

"Oh, baby", the brunette turned around and hugged her lover. "You really know how to turn me on", she said in lust as she tickled his neck with a finger.

"Come here, you", the man carried her in bridal style and she giggled.

The two got on a large yellow couch and began to kiss passionately. Almost forgotten, the man turned on the lamp behind him. Then he wrapped his arms around his woman as she wrapped her arms around him. However, the Latin female had a bad feeling about the man. Even though he's kissing a different woman, but she didn't that she was his next target. Still, the Latin female kept her distance away from the stairs. She quietly went back to the bedroom as she ignored a few moans from the horny brunette.

After the Latin woman closed the door, she looked around. Then she spotted a rectangular shaped window that looked like an easy escape. She nodded as she tip-toed to it. Luckily, the two lovebirds didn't hear the squeaking from above them. Afterwards, the Latin woman was in front of the large window. She slowly unlocked it and opened it from below. But then some rushing wind blew some rain on her face. She coughed a little and shaded her eyes from the bright flashes of lightning. As quick and quietly as she could, she began to climb down from the roof. Sure enough the rain made her slip a little, but she was able to keep her balance. Just then, a stroke of lightning scared her and made her slid down the rooftop. She held in her scream and fell into a pile of bushes. Twigs and leaves poked her skin as she struggled to get out. Successfully, she got free.

"Hey", the brunette spoke nicely.

"Hm?" her boyfriend stopped kissing and sat up.

"Why don't chu take off dat large jacket of yours?" the woman suggested.

"You really want me to?" the man laughed a little.

"Come on", the brunette crossed her arms. "I already know what you look like anyway."

"Fine, fine", the man sighed.

As the man slowly unzipped his jacket, the woman tipped her head to the side. Before the jacket was completely unzipped, the man stopped.

"What's wrong?" he asked curiously.

"Who's that?" the woman pointed at a window next to the door.

A small gasp came out of the man's mouth as he turned around. Both of them saw a Latin woman in a pink dress that was brushing some sticks and twigs off of her. The woman stopped and looked back. She could barely see the light coming from the window. Without hesitation, she turned around and took off. Angrily, the man zipped up his jacket. His girlfriend looked at him awkwardly.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Stacey", the man got off of her and went to the door. "Wait for me", he opened the door and left.

"Hey, wait!" the brunette called out as she sat up. "I didn't know that we were going to have a surprising threesome!"

Panting in fear, the Latin woman dashed through the woods in the rain. Too bad that she was barefooted, or she wouldn't have to step on a few rocks and sticks on the ground. Still, not all of that mattered to her. Her only goal was to get out and get help. Little did she know, the man was following her. Surely, he ran fast like a cheetah in a jungle. Even though the woman was ahead of him, that didn't mean that she wouldn't get away that easily. Soon enough, he saw the woman running for her life. He clenched his fists and started catching up with her. The woman looked back and gasped. Then she started running faster.

Thunder roared with a loud stroke of lightning. Unluckily, a tree was ready to collapse. The man stopped as his prisoner continued running. With luck, the tree fell behind her as she kept going. The vibration did catch her off guard a little, but she didn't want to look back. All she did was run, pant, and then disappeared into pure darkness. Now, she was gone. To the man's surprise, that girl could run fast! But he was very unhappy about it.

"Dammit", he growled as rain started pouring down harder.

At 1:00 a.m., the Chaotix were asleep. Vector was snoring on the couch while Mighty was asleep on the floor. Charmy was asleep in his bedroom while Espio slept in the office. By a loud stroke of lightning, everyone woke up. Charmy jumped out of his bed with a huge scream like a girl. Espio rushed to his room and went inside. He got into his fighting position, but only found a scaredy bumble bee shivering in fear.

"You have got to be kidding me", Espio sweatdropped and lowered his guard.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Mighty ran up to him.

"We thought that we heard a scream", Vector ran up behind the two.

"Nothing", Espio shook his head. "It was just Charmy screaming like a girl again."

"I don't scream like a girl!" Charmy scowled.

"Yeah, whatever", Might winked with tease.

"Grr!!" Charmy's face turned red as he held his blanket roughly.

Unwarily, there was a knock on the front door. The four heroes went down the stairs to see who it was. Espio opened the door was everyone else stood behind him.

"What?" he asked as the door was opened widely.

"¡Ayuda (Help)!" a Latin female screamed as she collapsed on him.

"Whoa, what's wrong?" Espio caught her before she could've hit the hard wooden floor.

"What in the world?" Mighty raised an eyebrow.

"Por favor (please)", the woman spoke again in Spanish. "Necesito su ayuda (I need your help)."

"What is she saying?" Charmy scratched his back.

"Sit her on the couch", Espio turned to Vector.

"Got it", the crocodile nodded.

Gently, Vector picked up the human girl in bridal style and walked to the couch. Espio closed the door as Mighty and Charmy followed Vector. The green crocodile slowly sat the Latin woman as she panted hardly in exhaustion. She looked around and found that she was safe. Espio came up next to Vector and looked at her. Suddenly, a gasp came out of his mouth. Somehow, he recalled that it was the same woman who was kidnapped last Friday night at Park Avenue. Her screams were heard and the kidnapper was seen in a short flashback. Timidly, Espio examined the woman. She still had on the short pink dress that had a few large cuts at the bottom. Also, she had bruises on her legs, arms, and a small one on her neck.

"Oh, my god", Espio spoke.

"What is it?" Charmy asked.

"This is the same girl that was kidnapped after we left the movie theater."

"It is!?" Mighty gasped as he turned to the woman.

"Wow", Vector raised an eyebrow in shock.

"Alguien aftering mí. Yo le necesito llamar a la policía(Someone's aftering me. I need you to call the police)", the woman panted slowly.

"Sorry, but we can't understand what you're saying", Mighty shook his head slowly.

"She's speaking Spanish", Espio turned to him.

"How do you know?" Mighty turned to him oddly.

"Watch", Espio turned back around and sat in front of the woman.

The Latin woman gulped down a small puke. Poor thing, she looked frightened. After all of that running sure did make her sores hurt a little more. Her light brown eyes landed on Espio as his bright yellow eyes landed on her. Vector, Mighty, and Charmy blinked in confusion.

"¿Qué sucedió (What happened)?" Espio began to talk in Spanish.

"Fui raptado (I was kidnapped)."

"¿Por quién (By whom)?"

"Grim."

"¿Por qué le raptó él (Why did he kidnap you)?"

"Porque yo no haría lo que él dijo (Because I wouldn't do what he said)."

"Veo (I see)", Espio nodded.

"Por suerte, yo pude escaper (Luckily, I was able to escape.) Pero mi cuerpo es realmente adolorido (But my body is really sore)", the woman held her stomach in pain.

"¿Quiere usted ir al hospital (Do you want to go to the hospital)?"

"Si (Yeah)", the Latin woman nodded slowly.

"Bueno (Ok)", Espio stood up.

The three other detectives were shocked by Espio's performance. No one ever knew that he was able speak and understand in such kind of language! However, it was a good thing that he did. On the other hand, they did know that he speaks Japanese at times. So listening to him speaking a different language confuses them. As for Espio, he knew exactly what they just said.

"What did she say?" Mighty asked in confusion.

"She said that she was kidnapped by Grim", Espio replied. "You know, the same guy that I told you all about. She said that he kidnapped her because she wouldn't do what she was told."

"Ohh", Charmy nodded with a smile.

All of the sudden, the woman began to sit up slowly. She groaned in pain as she held her stomach. The Chaotix gasped as they looked at her with worry. Finally, the woman gave up and laid back down.

"¡Haga no (Don't)!" Espio spoke to her again. "Usted no es suficiente bueno para mover todavía (You're not good enough to move yet)."

"Mi bebé (My baby)", the woman gasped sadly.

"Que (What)?" Espio sat down in front of her again.

"Mi hija (My daughter). Ella es todavía en casa (She's still at home). Yo me pregunto si ella está bien (I wonder if she's ok)."

"¿Dónde está ella (Where is she)?"

"En un derecho de apartamento en Estaciona la Avenida (At an apartment right at Park Avenue)."

"¿Qué es llamado (What's it called)?"

"Hogar apacible ('Gentle Home')."

"What?" Vector asked.

"She has a child at home", Espio stood back up. "She's still at a hotel at Park Avenue."

"So what should we do?" Mighty asked.

"Let's take her to the hospital first", Espio suggested. "Then we'll go look for her daughter."

"Gracias, mi amigos (Thank you, my friends)!" the Latin woman smiled.

"De nada (Your welcome)", Espio smiled at her. "¿A propósito, qué es su nombre (By the way, what's your name)?"

"Lucia. Lucia Garcia. ¿Y usted (And you)?"

"Espio", he introduced himself. "Espio el Camaleón. Y éstos son Vectores, Charmy y Poderoso. (Espio the Chameleon. And these are Vector, Charmy, and Mighty)."

"Nombres impresionantes (Awesome names)", Lucia smiled.

Mighty looked away with a small blush. Even though he couldn't understand what she said, she was still beautiful. Her light tanned skin, those light brown eyes, and the long brown hair. All of that brown on her looked so gorgeous. So it seemed that Mighty was developing a crush on her. But heck, she is human…

"¿Puede andar usted (Can you walk)?" Espio asked Lucia.

"Creo que no (I don't think so)", the woman tried to sit up again.

"Bueno (Ok). El vector aquí le llevará (Vector here will carry you)", Espio greeted Vector again.

"Huh?" the green crocodile sweatdropped.

"¡Gran¡Necesito un paseo de espalda de cochinillo! (Great! I need a piggy back ride!)", Lucia smiled at Vector.

"Carry her", Espio said as he walked to the door.

"Ok…" Vector carefully carried Lucia and followed.

The Chaotix got out of their house into the rain. Charmy locked the door and put the keys in his pajama pocket. Espio unlocked the car as Vector took Lucia to the back. Then Mighty and Charmy got in the back. Vector cleared his throat as he starred at Mighty.

"What?" the armadillo complained. "I have to sit in the trunk now?"

"Si (Yes)!" Vector snarled.

Mighty shrugged as he got out and went to the back of the car. Vector gently placed Lucia on the seat as Charmy got in. As Lucia sighed in relief, Charmy closed the door and used his wings to keep him in air. Mighty growled a few curse words as he got in the trunk. Bad news was that it was pretty junky. So he had to make some room. After he got in and closed the trunk, Vector got in the front. Espio was in the passenger's seat with his seatbelt on.

"¿Se prepara (You ready)?" Espio looked back at Lucia.

"Ajá (Uh-huh)", Lucia nodded.

"Alright", Vector fastened his seatbelt and turned on the ignition. "Let's go!"

Before long, he drove off in fast speed. As for Mighty, he curled up into a ball so that way he wouldn't get squished by a bunch of junk. First Vector, now Mighty had to sit in the trunk. Who's next, Charmy? The trunk was definitely not a good place as an extra seat. Later on, they all made to the hospital safely…

To Be Continued..


	27. Chapter 27:Off to find the Child

Ch.27: Off to the find the Child

After the Chaotix made it to the hospital, the doctors took Lucia to a room for her. They all stayed in the waiting room just in case they wanted to know what's wrong. As an hour passed by, the four detectives were asleep. Suddenly, a tall doctor with short yellow hair walked in and found them snoring in their sleep. He cleared his throat loudly to wake them up. Luckily, it worked for Espio and Mighty, since they were the first ones to wake up.

"What's up?" Mighty asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Miller", the yellow man shook Espio's hand.

"Hi."

"We took care of Lucia for you while you slept", the doctor explained with a clipboard in his left arm.

"Is she ok?" Espio asked in concern.

"Yes, she's fine", Dr. Miller nodded. "Problem was that we couldn't understand what she was saying."

"That's because she's Hispanic", Espio starred at him oddly.

"True", Dr. Miller sweatdropped.

"What are the conditions?" Mighty asked.

"Well, she has a lot of bruises all over her body", the doctor continued to explain. "As we took her to her room, she kept seething in pain."

"Her body hurts", Espio replied.

"Well, something must've happened to her."

"Like what?" Mighty spoke again curiously.

"Like…Someone must've took advantage of her", Dr. Miller answered calmly and slowly.

Espio and Mighty gasped loudly in shock and fear. Vector woke up after he heard that sound. He looked around to see what just happened. Charmy turned over to the side and continued his sleeping. Both of them didn't even hear what the doctor just said to Espio and Mighty. The chameleon growled angrily as he looked down and clenched his fists. Mighty starred at him with worry.

"That bastard", Espio whispered furiously.

"However, we gave her some medicine so that way her aching would stop", Dr. Miller said with confidence.

"That's good", Mighty smiled at him.

"Dr. Miller", a red head nurse came in from behind. "Um, I need you to come to Lucia's room again."

"She's speaking Spanish again, isn't she?" Dr. Miller turned to her with a sweatdrop.

"I'll go talk to her", Espio got up form his seat.

"Well…alright", Dr. Miller led him out.

"Hey, wait up", Mighty called out as he got up and ran after them.

Vector rubbed his eyes with a huge yawn. Then he looked over at the sleeping bumble bee. He shook Charmy wildly as he yelled wobbly. Before Charmy could've asked why, Vector got up and walked out of the room. So he knew what was going on. He flew up off of his seat and followed Vector.

Later on, the nurse opened the door to room 200, which was Lucia's room. Espio was the first one to walk in as the rest of the Chaotix followed. Lucia turned her head to the side and sat up slowly while she was seen in a long white gown. The doctor and the nurse stood at the doorway for protection. Charmy went to an empty bed next to Lucia and fell asleep on it. Then another Spanish conversation began.

"Usted tipos (You guys)", Lucia spoke to Espio surprinsingly.

"Como estas (How are you)?" Espio sat on the bed and looked at her.

"Así así (So and so)."

"Ah (Oh)", Espio nodded.

"¿Ha encontrado usted a mi niña (Have you found my child)?"

"Bien, necesitamos una llave a su apartamento (Well, we need a key to your apartment)."

"Tengo un clave escondido bajo un felpudo en el espacio treinta dos (I have a key hidden under a doormat at room 32)."

"¿Qué es su nombre de hija (What's your daughter's name)?"

"Ana."

"Conseguido lo. Un par de nosotros iremos al hotel para encontrarla (Got it. A couple of us will go to the hotel to find her.)", Espio finished.

"Gracias (Thanks)", Lucia nodded.

Dr. Miller and the nurse were very shocked! Who knew that someone like him would be able to talk and understand a confusing language? This was their first time listening to a Spanish conversation between two people. However, they were also confused. Same with Mighty and Vector. Charmy ignored the whole thing as he doozed off to dream world.

"What'd she say?" Vector asked.

"She says that her child is in room 32 at the apartment", Espio stood up and turned to him. "There's a key under the doormat once you get there."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Mighty asked as he scratched the back of his head.

"You and Vector have to go to the apartment", Espio answered. "I'll stay here with Lucia and Charmy."

"Wait, us!?" Mighty asked frightenedly with a hop. "Are you kidding me?! It's pouring out there like crazy!"

"Then walk", Espio snapped at him.

"Hmm", Mighty finally cooled off.

"Apure por favor (Please hurry)", Lucia turned to him sadly.

"Um…ok", Mighty looked away with a blush.

"We'll be back as fast as we can", Vector locked his fists together.

"Good", Espio nodded. "Now, go."

Both Vector and Mighty nodded. Dr. Miller moved out of the way as they rushed out of the room. Charmy started to snore loudly like a lion in the wild. Espio ignored him and turned back to Lucia. She sighed as she laid back on the bed slowly. Then she looked at the bandages on her arms. They were white and wrapped all the way down to her fingertips. Plus, she also felt a small one on the right side of her neck and some on her legs. Her wounds were very serious. If only she could figured out what happened to her while she was unconscious. Espio looked into her sad and scared eyes. He felt sorry for her since she was missing for a while and that she had a child at home. Lucia looked up at the ceiling with another sigh.

"Espero que Ana bueno (I hope that Ana's ok)", she spoke again.

"Sí. Mí también (Yeah. Me too.)", Espio nodded.

To be Continued…


	28. Chapter 28:Confrontation with Grim

Ch. 28: Confrontation with Grim

Rain was pouring hardly as Vector and Mighty were on their way to Lucia's apartment. Thank goodness that there were no other cars in the way, otherwise, they would've got into a wreck! However, it was a bit challenging for Vector to see where he was going in the rain. But the drive was very long for the two of them. About a couple of hours later, they made it to a normal apartment at Park Avenue near the movie theater.

"Is this it?" Mighty tried to see through the window but all he could see was rain.

"Go check it out", Vector laid back in his seat a little.

"What?" Mighty looked at him angrily.

"Look", Vector sighed. "Just go see if this is the right place. If it is, get the child. And if this isn't the right place, or if the child isn't there, then come back and tell me."

"Great", Mighty covered his head with a hood to his jacket. "I guess I'll go and check it out", he got out of the car and went to the apartment building.

"Ok", Vector yawned as he turned on the radio.

Mighty calmly walked up to the front door. The sign read 'Welcome to Gentle Care' on a piece of paper which was seen inside of the door. All of the lights were off. Where were the security guards and the manager? It seemed strange that no one was at the front desk this late at night. And to think that businesses that could actually run for about 24 hours, 7 days a week. Probably not. Luckily, Mighty was able to walk into the dark hotel.

As he took off his hood, he looked around. He could barely see a large desk at the end of the room along with some lounge couches. However, it didn't really bug him that much. On his left, he saw a case of stairs. With some light from the striking lightning, Mighty was able to find his way there and began to go up the stairs. Meanwhile with Vector, he started listening to some loud rap music on the radio. He bobbed his head lightly and oddly as he enjoyed the beat. But he didn't even have his eyes open. A strange whoosh passed by his car and went inside the apartment…

A few minutes later, Mighty made it to room 32. He looked at the cheetah furred doormat that read **'¡Dé la bienvenida a mis amigos (Welcome my friends)!**' in large bold words. Although, Mighty had no idea what that meant anyway. Nether less, he looked under the doormat and found a large golden key under it. He unlocked the door and went inside. The thunder continued to roar as he closed the door behind him. Since he was tired of the dark, he flipped a light switch and looked around. The whole place didn't looked half bad actually. Obviously, the room looked incredibly beautiful. The walls were painted white, the furniture was black, and the wooden kitchen floor looked brand new! Plus, there was a large screen television right in front of the black couch. Also, the carpet looked good in a peach yellow color.

"Hm, nice place", Mighty nodded with a smile.

However, he had to stay focused. Even though the place looked nice, he still had to find the child. He walked through a door to the right and it only led him to the bathroom. He suddenly got distracted by the beautiful gold color all over the room. Anyhow, he left and went into a door next to the bathroom. Inside that room was filled with toys all over the peach colored floor, large posters of Dora the Explorer, and there was a large wooden crib next to a white dresser. Mighty walked to the crib slowly and calmly as he could. After he reached up to the wooden bed, he looked in to see if the child was there. Turns out that the little girl was asleep. The light brown colored baby was snoring slightly under her breath. Her body was covered by a large pink blanket with printed ducks on it.

"Aww…" Mighty rubbed the baby's short dark brown hair.

By the touch of Mighty's glove, the baby winced a little and opened her eyes. Those dark brown eyes looked around curiously as she yawned. Mighty smiled as he carried her gently in his arms. A little while later, he heated up a bottle of milk as the baby sat in a high baby's chair. The armadillo sighed as he sat down at the table. Once the milk was done, he took it out and gave it to the baby girl. She grabbed it and started drinking it quickly since she was very thirsty.

"Ok", Mighty sweatdropped. "I guess you were very hungry, huh?"

Then again, the baby hasn't eaten or drank anything in a while. So she had to have something to fill up her empty stomach. Thankfully, she was still alive after her long starvation. Nearly after her drink, Mighty gave her some baby food to keep her full. After he was done with that, he picked her up and took her to her room. He placed her in a perfect sized car seat and buckled her in. Then he took the blanket out of the crib and covered her up to her chest. The small baby yawned as she began to feel sleepy again.

"You're a cute little girl, aren't cha?" Mighty smiled as he tickled her on the neck. "Ok, time to see your mommy", he put a clean pacifier in the baby's mouth and she gladly took it.

Before long, the lights suddenly went out. Mighty gasped as he hopped up to his feet. At first, he clicked on the switch, but that didn't work. So it was probably a power outage. Basically, it was because of the thunderstorm going on outside. Sighing in relief, Mighty covered the sleeping baby with the large blanket. As he stood up, he suddenly sensed something. He slowly turned around and then gasped. Behind him, was the criminal, 'Grim'! The figure in black starred at him evilly as a murderer that he is.

"You", Mighty pointed.

A quick second later, the villain back handed Mighty and he fell back. Then he turned to the infant that was hidden under the cover in a small car seat. He began to walk to it slowly with a large knife in his jacket pocket. Mighty got on his knees and grabbed the slayer's left ankle and then twisted it. Pretty roughly, the man rolled to the side and fell to the ground. As Mighty was about to get up, the sociopath suddenly pinned him to the floor and he struggled. A moment later, the wrongdoer pulled out a combat knife and aimed at Mighty's head. In time, he grabbed the knife before it could've got stabbed in the skull. He growled as he struggled to get it away from him. The sharp end of it began to cut into his skin with blood dripping to the ground tardily. But then, the baby began to cry because of the loud thundering and lightning from outside. Thanks to the criminal's distraction, Mighty was able to throw the knife out of the way and reversed the pinning onto the convict. Both of them struggled to choke each other, as if they were in a wrestling match. But then, the bad guy harked and spit out a large ball of saliva on Mighty's eye.

"Eww, sick!" Mighty wiped the disgusting substance off of his face.

Little did he know that was the felon's plan. He furiously kicked Mighty off of him and got up on his feet. As he looked around to find his weapon, Mighty groaned in pain and sat up slowly. Just before the criminal looked to his left, Mighty got up and slammed him against the wall. A couple of family pictures fell off as Mighty choked the criminal senselessly. However, the criminal didn't give up. Grim elbowed Mighty in the stomach hardly and then back fisted him to the ground. Still able to move, Mighty got up and punched him in the jaw. Then both of them grabbed each other by the shoulders and tried to pull one of them to the soft carpet floor. Successfully, Mighty was able to get free, kicked the man between his legs, and then grabbed the baby's car seat. Thus, he ran out with the baby still in the car seat. With the villain groaning in pain, he wrapped his arms around his lower stomach and seethed hardly.

Running in fear, Mighty left the room and looked around. At the end of the long hallway, there was an elevator. Figuring that the stairs could take to long, he nodded and dashed down the hallway. Moments later, Grim got up to his feet and stopped his seething. He looked around and found both Mighty and the baby gone.

"Son of a bitch", he muttered as he ran out of the baby's room.

While Mighty continued to run to the elevator, he suddenly yelped in pain and hopped a few times. He dropped down to his knees and felt his left hip in pain. Goodness, he must've pulled a muscle! That wasn't the good news, considering that he still has a long way to go. But Mighty was way too young to be pulling muscles like an old man. Heedfully, he got up to his feet stretched a little. Grim kicked the front door open and looked around. By the sound of the loud slam, Mighty looked back and gasped. Suddenly, Grim spotted them and held out his knife. The armadillo swore loudly as he grabbed the baby and ran some more. Auspiciously, Mighty was able to make it to the clear colored elevator. With some lightning light, he pressed the down button a few times in a hurry.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon", Mighty panted to himself as he looked back.

Grim was a little bit further behind. He began to run faster with an angry growl. The elevator doors opened by the sound of a ding. Mighty took the baby, went inside and pressed the first floor button. As the doors were closing in, Grim was coming close. Mighty gulped as he backed up to the tanned wall. As the villain was almost there, Mighty swore 'Damn' over and over again impatiently. Luckily, the doors closed before Grim could've reached to him. A short curse word came out of his mouth as he shook his head. During the long ride, Mighty slid down to the tan colored marble floor in exhaustion. He panted frightenedly as he starred at the doors. This was his first time running from a crazed criminal ever. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to face another person like that again. Good thing that the baby didn't cry so much. In fact, she was asleep again! Even for an infant, she can sleep for a long time and ignore the noises. Somehow, it surprised Mighty.

A few minutes later, Mighty got up and grabbed the baby. As the doors opened, he took off and ran down the hall. After he passed the front desk, he ran out of the apartment. The criminal was just coming down the stairs after he heard the front door closing in. Mighty opened the door in a hurry, got in, and sat the baby on his lap. Rudely, he turned off the rap music and switched it to some corny country music on the radio. Vector opened his eyes and stopped bobbing.

"What the hell?" he asked as Mighty quickly closed the door.

"Drive", the armadillo ordered.

"Huh-?"

"DRIVE."

"Ok, ok", Vector turned on the ignition and drove off.

Fortunately, Grim came out of the apartment and watched his victims getting away. Another stroke of lightning stormed the sky as he swore with hatred. Since the weather was getting bad and he didn't have his car, he ran off in a different direction. Back with Mighty, he panted in fear as he checked on the baby under the cover. Vector swift his eyes to him and then back at the road.

"What happened to you?" he asked jokily.

"I…saw…him", Mighty panted slowly

"Who?"

"Grim."

"The criminal!?" Vector hopped and widened his eyes.

"Yeah", Mighty nodded as he took off his hood. "Apparently, he was aftering the kid."

"Her name's Ana, right?" Vector asked.

"I think so", Mighty starred at the sleeping baby again.

"Boy, we got a lot of work to do", Vector shook his head in annoyance.

"Yeah", Mighty yawned a little. "We better head back to the hospital and tell Espio about this."

"You got it", Vector said with an evil grin.

From the look in his eyes, Mighty could tell what he was about to do. Just in case, he held the infant close to him. All of the sudden, Vector turned on some loud rap music and laughed. He began to drive wildly like a psychic teenager. Ana cried after the music disturbed her sleep.

"Jesus Christ, Vector, slow down!" Mighty hollered fearfully.

"Yippee Yi Yea!" the crocodile ignored him and continued to drive hurreidly.

To Be Contiued…


	29. Chapter 29:Safe and Sound

Ch.29: Safe and Sound

The door to Lucia's hospital room opened slowly as she was asleep. Most of the lights were off in the humongous building, so no one was probably awake now. Footsteps were heard as someone walked in. It was a man, no other than Grim. There was no telling how he got there, so he must've snuck in secretly. With the Latin girl asleep, he walked to her slowly and quietly. Soon enough, he reached up to the bed. He looked down at her and removed the cover gently. He stopped as the white sheet was completely off of his victim's body. As Lucia opened her eyes slowly, Grim suddenly got on top of her and covered her mouth. She mumbled her screams, but no one heard. Even Charmy wasn't around! Sweating in fear, Lucia looked up at the figure in black. She gasped.

"You're time has come", Grim said and pulled out a chef's knife.

Lucia screamed through his hand as he rose up his knife. Grim laughed along with lightning strikes from outside of the windows. Lucia struggled to get free, but his aggressive hand was too strong for her. She let out another scream as she closed her eyes.

"¡Lucia¡Calme! (Lucia, calm down!)" Espio said as he shook her by the shoulders gently.

Lucia gasped and suddenly found herself in her room again. Only this time, the lights were on and Charmy was still asleep in the bed next to her. Apparently, she just had a bad dream. And yet, it was only 6 o'clock in the morning! Panting in relief, Lucia looked around the room. She then looked at Espio's wrists, which were held tightly by her hands. A small gasp came out of her mouth as she released him.

"Lo siento (I'm sorry)", she apologized. "Debo haber tenido un mal sueño (I must've had a bad dream)."

"Está bien (It's ok)", Espio waved his hands no.

"¿Qué hora es (What time is it)?"

"Son las seis por la mañana (It's six o'clock in the morning)."

"Yo me pregunto si ellos encontraron Ana todavía (I wonder if they found Ana yet)", Lucia looked up at the ceiling in wonder.

"No preocupe (Don't worry)", Espio shook his head. "Estoy seguro que ella es fina (I'm sure she's fine)."

Poor Lucia. She really missed her own child. Even Espio felt the same way, since he was also worried about Ana's safety. However, Vector and Mighty were taking a very long time. Lord knows what could've happened to them! Did they get into a car wreck? Are they lost? Or worse, did Grim showed up and killed them? So many questions and worries were filled inside the two of them. If they had to wait any longer, they would have to call the police. Too bad that none of the Chaotix members had a cell phone on them. It was a good thing that the hospital still had electricity after the long thunderstorm.

After a few more minutes of waiting, a sudden knock was on the door. Espio got up and walked to it as Lucia looked over to her right. First, Espio took a peek at the window just to see who it was. Then he opened the door. Vector was the first one to walk in with 6 bags of breakfast food from McDonald's.

"Hey", he smiled.

"Look who we got", Mighty came in as he held a baby car seat.

Lucia gasped as she sat up in shock. Slowly in pain, she got out of her bed and ran to Mighty. She looked under the cover and found her baby daughter awake. The baby laid her dark brown eyes on her as she sucked on her pink pacifier.

"Ana", Lucia smiled with small tears. "Ah, estoy tan contento que usted está bien (Oh, I'm so glad that you're ok)."

Espio smiled as Mighty winked. Vector chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. As for Lucia, she took Ana out of the car seat and held her in her arms. It was such a wonderful feeling to see her daughter again. So now, she was very happy. She looked at Mighty and Vector with a great big smile on her face.

"Gracias tanto, usted tipos (Thank you so much you guys)", Lucia nodded.

"Um…De nada (You're welcome)?" Vector answered nervously just to make sure he was correct.

"What took you so long?" Espio asked Mighty.

"Well, it was a long drive", the armadillo sighed. "Plus, we kinda got lost while on our way back."

"So what happened at the apartment?" Espio asked again.

"Well…I did feed the baby", Mighty explained calmly. "But then…I saw Grim."

"The criminal!?" Espio widened his eyes with worry and Lucia gasped.

"I'm guessing he was aftering Ana", Mighty looked over at the Latin infant. "Maybe he was going to use her as bait to lead Lucia to a trap."

"Hm", Lucia nodded, since she could tell.

"At least we got away safely", Vector smiled. "Plus, I brought ya some food before we got here. You like McDonald's breakfast, right?" he turned over to Lucia.

"¡Sí, adoro el desayuno de McDonald (Yeah, I love McDonald's breakfast)!" she smiled cheerfully. "¡Gracias (Thanks)!"

"Well, let's eat", Vector smiled back. "By the way, who's gonna wake up Charmy?" he turned to the sleeping bee.

"Oh, yeah, he has school today", Espio looked back and went to Charmy. "Hey, wake up", he shook him hardly.

"Leave me alone, Bill Cosby", Charmy grumbled as he turned over to the side.

"Charmy", Espio crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

"Yo lo conseguí (I got it)", Lucia said as she came up next to him. "¡DESPIERTESE (WAKE UP)!" she shouted loudly.

"Aah!" Charmy shrieked as he flew out of his bed. "What's up? What's wrong?" he looked around cautiously.

"Here", Vector gave him a large McDonald's bag. "It's your breakfast."

"I have to go to school, do I?" Charmy starred at Espio annoyingly.

"Yep", the chameleon nodded.

"But I don't want to go", Charmy whined. "Can't I just take a day off here?"

"Nope", Espio shook his head. "You need to go to school to get your education."

"Verdaderamente (Indeed)", Lucia nodded. "Usted tiene que ir (You have to go)."

Of course, Charmy couldn't understand what she just said. Same with Mighty and Vector. Shamefully, he had to travel a long way to get to school. The hospital was near the outside of the town, and he might get to school for about an hour or so. Still, he had to go because no one wanted a call from the principal about him not attending school. Not only that, but Charmy had to go home to change into his uniform before that. The poor bee sighed as he began to eat.

After everyone got done with their breakfast, Vector decided to take Charmy to school. The rest of the gang stayed at the hospital for some rest. But then, Espio had a thought in his mind. He had to tell Amy about what's been going on all night. Not only that, Lucia might be able to give some clues about Grim. That plan seemed good, but he had to either walk or call a cab to get to her. Sure he was a bit tired; he was able to keep his eyes open.

"Hey", he spoke to Mighty.

"Hm?" the armadillo looked at him curiously.

"Stay here with Lucia", Espio ordered. "I'm gonna find Amy and bring her here."

"Why?" Mighty asked a stupid question.

"Just to tell her what's been going on, duh", Espio sweatdropped. "Regresaré (I'll be back)", he turned to Lucia.

"Bueno (Ok)", she nodded. "Tenga cuidado (Be careful)."

"Hago (I will)", Espio replied and then ran out of the room.

Now there was silence. Ana feel asleep again, Mighty sat on the empty bed, and Lucia watched his actions. All three of them were alone, in a large hospital bedroom. For the time being, they had to wait. Hopefully, Espio would find Amy and that Charmy would be able to go to school today…

To Be Continued…


	30. Chapter 30:Amy meets Lucia

Ch.30: Amy meets Lucia

Meanwhile, at Amy's hotel room, she was lying on the couch looking through her mail. Most of them were coupons, which she mostly didn't like to see. Cream was already out of the room, so everything was quiet. Although, she did have on her television on as it showed some paid programming commercials. The pink hedgehog was still in her long red pajamas and her hair tied up into a bun in the back. She sighed slowly because she was bored. Apparently, she missed Shadow. She just couldn't wait to spend time with him again. Before she could've dazed off in a lovey-dovey daydream, a knock was heard on the door. Amy got up, put on her hot pink robe and slippers, and walked to it.

"I don't want what you're selling-", she said as she opened the door.

"Good, you're awake", Espio interrupted and pulled her out of her room.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's going on?" Amy asked before Espio took off.

"I met a survivor", the chameleon implied.

"A survivor? Of what?"

"From getting killed by 'you know who'."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, now let's go", Espio pulled her to the side a little.

"Wait, wait", Amy stopped again.

"What?" Espio sighed hardly, beginning to get impatient.

"I'm still in my PJ's", Amy examined her outfit.

"So?" Espio was about to take off again.

"Hold on", Amy stopped him again.

"What?!" Espio stumped his foot childishly.

"Can I at least get my room key?" Amy asked sarcastically.

"Hurry up", Espio said impatiently.

"Pushy", Amy muttered as she snatched her hand away from him.

Quickly as possible, Amy grabbed her room key off the floor and then came back out. She closed the door and locked it. Espio had his arms crossed as Amy put the key in her robe pocket. She cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Now are you ready?" Espio asked sarcastically.

"Yeah", Amy nodded.

"Good, now let's go", Espio took Amy's hand and took off.

Outside, a cab was waiting for the both of them. The middle aged driver sighed as he looked at his watch. It was about 9:00. However, Espio has only been gone for about 2 minutes. So why was he impatient all of the sudden? Shortly in time, Espio and Amy came out of the twin doors and ran to the yellow car. Both of them got in the backseat as the driver watched them on his rear mirror.

"To the hospital", Espio pointed forward.

"I dunno", the cab driver said as he examined Amy's clothing. "Are you sure that you want to travel in that?"

"Just. Drive. The. Car", Amy seethed with an angry glare.

"Ok, fine", the driver paid attention to the road and turned on the ignition.

Slowly and cautiously, the cab drove off. As it reached to a highway, Amy turned to Espio who was looking out the window on his left.

"So what's going on?" she asked.

"A survivor came to our house last night", Espio began to explain. "She was covered with bruises all over her body."

"Do you think that Grim did all of that to her?"

"Please", Espio rolled his eyes. "I knew that all the way."

"Hm", Amy looked out the window on her right.

"By the way", Espio spoke. "Can you speak Spanish?"

"Nope", Amy shook her head. "I don't think so."

Espio released a sigh. He knew that he would to do some more translations for her and Lucia. Doing that kind of job was starting to get on his nerves. As for Amy, she somehow knew that the survivor was Hispanic. So she could imagine what it would be like by trying to ask her some specific questions but get answers in Spanish. Sounds like that this case could get a little bit challenging for her…

Back at the hospital, Mighty was half asleep. He had to keep his eyes open, just in case Grim might try to attack Lucia without any warning. As for Lucia, she was feeding Ana a bottle of warm milk. She wanted to stay awake too, because she was in fear for her daughter's life. But Mighty felt more tired then Lucia. Over and over again, he struggled to keep his eyes open. Since he was out all night, he felt very tired. Also, he needed to rest up his hip after he pulled the muscle. All of that running sure did make him tired. However, he took a long break after he returned.

The room door suddenly opened and Mighty gasped. Lucia gasped too, who was the first one to notice the opening. Good news was that it was only Espio. He led Amy in as she looked around. Mighty and Lucia sighed in relief. That was close. They almost that they were assassins themselves. Amy stopped looking around as she spotted a beautiful Latin female in a long white gown. She then looked in her arms, where a small baby was held and was drinking a bottle of milk.

"Don't scare me", Mighty panted a little. "For a while there, I was about to do karate on you."

"You can't do shit", Espio shook his head. "Amy, this is Lucia. Lucia, esto es Amy (Lucia, this is Amy)", he greeted them.

"Um, hi", Amy shook Lucia's hand.

"Nice to meet you", Lucia suddenly spoke English.

"Whoa!" Mighty looked at her in surprise. "You can speak English?"

"Yeah", Lucia rolled her eyes. "Is that a big deal to you?" she asked him rudely.

"I'm just wondering, gosh", Mighty waved his hands. _"Man",_ he thought to himself. _"When she speaks Spanish, she seems very nice. But when she speaks English…she seems very mean."_

Amy blinked twice. It seemed that she didn't need Espio's help in that time. However, Espio was a little surprised too. Not only that, he didn't have to do some translation work this time. He sighed in relief.

"Um…What am I doing here?" Amy looked at him oddly.

"Just thought that you need a little more info", Espio replied.

"Um, can you tell me what happened?" Amy asked Lucia nicely.

"Ok", Lucia nodded. "I don't remember much, but I was kidnapped by Grim. What I do recall was that I wouldn't do what I was told to do. Maybe I was trying to tell him that I didn't want to do his dirty work anymore."

"What a jerk", Amy said as she shook her head.

"Sometime later, I was unconscious", Lucia began again as she started seeing black and white flashbacks. "When, I woke up, I was found in a large bedroom inside a huge house. As I walked my way out of that room, I felt a huge pain throughout my body. I had a lot of bruises on me, but I didn't know what happened to me. When I was standing at the top of the stairs, a different female came in through the front door. Behind her was Grim himself. I kept my distance away from him so he wouldn't see me. After that, I climbed down the roof but slipped off and fell into a pile of bushes. Just when I got up and brushed some twigs off of me, Grim and the girl noticed me. Without hesitation, I ran as fast as I could. However, he followed me. Luckily, a stroke of lightning knocked a tree down and blocked his way from me. Later on that night, I met Espio and the others." Those flashbacks ended and Lucia sighed in relief.

"Wow", Amy widened her eyes in shock. "Well, I'm glad that you're ok."

"Yeah, but after that, me and Vector went to find her child", Mighty continued the story.

"What's her name?" Amy smiled as she looked at the infant.

"Ana", Lucia answered.

"Cute", she complemented. "Anyway, continue", Amy looked at Mighty.

"After I found Ana, Grim came out of nowhere and attacked me", he continued.

"Oh, my god, did you get hurt?" Amy gasped with worry.

"A little", Mighty rubbed his head. "Good thing I was able to hold him off from the kid. Cause, I could probably tell that he was aftering her."

"Why?" Amy asked.

"Just to use her as a trap for Lucia", Espio answered with his arms crossed.

"So then…We escaped", Mighty finished the story.

Amy bit her right thumb a little. Now she had to get serious. The killer seemed very intense when it comes to taking hostages. And the fact that there was another girl there, there might be a guess that she's already dead. Not only Amy was getting serious, but she was getting scared also. Just imagining that if she was next did kind of frighten her. Espio could tell since he saw her body shivered in fear. Mighty and Lucia noticed too. The pink hedgehog took a large gulp and calmed down a little.

"You alright?" Espio asked kindly.

"Yeah", Amy lied softly under her breath. "I'm gonna go home now…"

"Go on", Espio greeted her to the open door. "I won't stop ya."

"Ok", Amy nodded and then walked out of the room.

"See you later, Ames", Mighty waved.

"Take care", Lucia waved also.

Espio looked back and watched Amy. Something told him that she was worried. That's strange, considering that she's never been that way before. He could tell since he remembered those terrified look in her eyes. He had a hunch that he should keep a close eye on her besides Lucia. Mighty felt the same way.

As Amy walked down the hallways, she held her stomach and shivered again. She had no idea that she was that scared before. It was her first time though. But still, how in the world would she get scared all of the sudden? Although, she never confronted the killer herself, she still had a bad feeling about tonight. Whatever comes, whatever goes. Either she could be next, or she might end up lucky again. Despite that, she is a detective, and they're never scared. For the first time, she was.

(Amy's P.O.V.)

_I felt scared. That was my first time that I've ever been scared in my life. Still, it was a good thing that there was a survivor, for once. Even so, I wondered if she would be alright with Espio and the Chaotix. That Grim, was a real psycho. I only hoped that he wouldn't try to find Lucia again. Not only that I was scared for her and Ana's life…I was scared for mine too…_

To Be Continued…


	31. Chapter 31:Shopping Spree!

Ch.31: Shopping Spree!

Later that day, Amy got back to Emerald Hotel from the hospital. During her ride in the cab, she kept silent. Even when the driver tried to make a friendly conversation with her, she only said one thing and stays quiet after that. It wasn't her fault really. She was just afraid of the criminal. What was next for that ignorant bastard? Amy did think about it a little, but she didn't want to imagine what his next move was.

After Amy took the elevator, she walked out. As she walked down the hallway, she suddenly stopped. Up ahead, someone was standing at her door. It looked like someone was waiting for her. Amy took a couple steps forward to see who it was. She gasped as she stopped. The person waiting for her at the door was Shadow! Hard to believe that he was able to find her room number. Amy wanted to run to him, but she couldn't. She was still in her pajamas and she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of him.

"_I can't go up to him like this",_ Amy thought as she looked at her pink sleeves to her robe. _"Damn that Espio! Next time, I'm gonna smack him in the face the next time I see him!"_

"_Where is she?" _Shadow thought as he tapped his foot.

There was no other choice for Amy. Either she had to say hi to him in her PJ's, or she would make him impatient and leave. Her only choice was to walk up to him, in her cute, yet kiddy-like pajamas. She sighed as she walked to her boyfriend. Shadow yawned as he stretched out his arms. He was starting to get tired of waiting for her. Maybe he was waiting for Amy longer than she thought. As he turned around, his eyes widened in shock. Amy stopped walking as she was right next to him.

"Um…" Shadow tried not to laugh.

"Yeah, I know", Amy sighed sarcastically.

"What are you…doing…in…your …pajamas?" Shadow snickered, but then started laughing hysterically.

"_Now, I'm really gonna smack Espio",_ Amy thought as her left eyebrow twitched.

"I'm sorry", Shadow stopped laughing. "You just look so cute in your PJ's."

"Huh?" Amy looked at him oddly with a small blush. "Well, I had some business to take care of. Apparently, one of my annoying 'comrades' didn't give me time to get dressed today."

"Oh, I see", Shadow folded his arms.

"So what brings you here?" Amy asked nicely.

"Hurry up and get dressed", Shadow said.

"Why?" Amy blinked.

"I'm gonna take you out somewhere", Shadow answered with a smile. "It's a surprise."

"You got it", Amy opened her door excitedly and ran inside.

Hurriedly, she changed out of her PJ's into a white tanktop, jeans, and sneakers. After a short minute, Amy came back out and closed the door behind her. The slam sort of made Shadow jump a little as he turned to her. A huge smile appeared on the pink hedgehog's face.

"So where are we going?" Amy asked happily.

"It's a surprise", Shadow took her hand and they took off.

An hour later, Amy and Shadow were in front of a gigantic building. However, Amy was blindfolded by Shadow's palms. She wasn't able to know where they were going after they left the hotel, even though she drove them there. All of that waiting was starting to irritate her.

"Ok, where the heck are we?" Amy asked as she crossed her arms.

"Walla", Shadow released his hands.

After Amy opened her eyes, she gasped in shock. Both of them were outside a humungous mall called 'Great Gold Mall'. She never went to that mall before, because everything was so darn expensive. So this was the 'big' surprise that Shadow was telling her all about. Still, she couldn't believe her eyes. The mall looked like a size of a million dollar mansion and it was only one story high!

"You kidding me, right?" Amy asked in awe.

"Nope", Shadow wrapped his arms around her neck. "You can get anything you want from here."

"But…everything's expensive", Amy lowered her head.

"That's ok", Shadow reached into his pants pocket. "Here", he gave her a 75 percent off gift card to the whole mall.

"Seventy five percent off?" Amy looked at it proudly. "Are you serious?"

"Anything for you, my rose", Shadow replied and kissed her on the cheek. "So, what do you want to get?"

"Hmm…" Amy pondered as she looked up to the sky.

(BGM plays 'Déjà vu' by Beyonce and Jay-Z)

_**(Intro:)**__**  
**__**(Beyonce:)**__** Bass  
**__**(Jay-z:)**__** Uh  
**__**(Beyonce:)**__** Hi hat  
**__**(Jay-Z:)**__** Uh  
**__**(Beyonce:)**__** 808  
**__**(Jay-Z:)**__** Uh  
**__**(Beyonce:)**__** Jay  
**__**(Jay-Z:)**__** Uh-huh  
Ready?  
Uh-huh  
**__**(Beyonce:)**__** Let's go get 'em  
**__**(Jay-Z:)**__** Uh-huh  
C'mon**_

Inside the mall, everything seemed peaceful. The customers were walking around here to there without any intrusions. Most of the shoppers were young teenagers that were skipping school today. Everyone was shopping and exploring, old and young. But all of the silence was broken when Amy expeditiously ran through the front doors in a very fast speed. Due to her outrageous speed (that might be identical to Sonic's), everyone screamed and dived out of the way so they wouldn't get ran over. As for Shadow, he was riding along with Amy's right hand gripping onto his.

_**Jay-Z Rap:**__**  
I used to run base like Juan Pierre  
Now I run the bass hi hat and the snare  
I used to bag girls like Birkin Bags  
Now I bag B (**__**[Beyonce:**__** Boy you hurtin' that)  
Brooklyn Bay where they birthed me at  
Now I be everywhere, the nerve of rap  
The audacity to have me whipping curtains back  
Me and B, she about to sting  
Stand back**_

"**AMY, SLOW DOWN!"** Shadow yelled, who caught his fall a few times.

"You kidding me?" Amy asked with a smirk. "I can get whatever I want here! So let's go!" she started going faster and ignored Shadow's yelling in fear.

_**Verse 1(Beyonce):**__**  
Baby seems like everywhere I go  
I see you, from your eyes, your smile  
It's like I breathe you, helplessly I reminisce  
Don't want to compare nobody to you**_

First, Amy and Shadow rushed inside a store called 'New York and Company'. Sure some of the clothing's looked sort of 'adult-like', but that didn't stop the shopping maniac to look around. As Amy zipped from place to place, Shadow watched at the cash register. He and the male cashier sweatdropped with their eyes widened in shock. No one knew that they would see someone act like that ever! After Amy found a few outfits, paid the price, she took the clothes, and Shadow, and then zipped out of the place.

_**(Pre-Hook):**__**  
Boy, I try to catch myself  
But I'm out of control  
Your sexiness is so appealing  
I can't let it go  
Oh**_

Second, Amy stopped in front of a different store called 'Finish Line'. Well, a few outfits she bought there were sweats and Nike's shoes. What's good was that the price didn't cost that much. Just after Amy paid the price, she dragged Shadow out of there as he held a few bags in his arms.

_**(Hook):**__**  
Know that I can't get over you  
'Cause everything I see is you  
And I don't want no substitute  
Baby I swear it's Deja Vu  
Know that I can't get over you  
'Cause everything I see is you  
And I don't want no substitute  
Baby I swear it's Déjà vu**_

Right across 'Finish Line', Amy dashed into another store named 'Levis Store'. As Shadow sat down to take a break, Amy wandered off around the store to find some more clothes. Thanks to her nice built up hips, she was able to fit in some capris and jeans as she tried them on. Five minutes later, she bought two capris, sweaters, and tops. When she got done, the nightmare continued for Shadow…

_**(Verse 2):**__**  
Seeing things that I know can't be  
Am I dreaming? When I saw you walking past me  
Almost called your name  
Got a better glimpse and then I looked away  
It's like I'm losing it**_

_**(Pre-hook):**__**  
Boy, I try to catch myself  
But I'm out of control  
Your sexiness is so appealing  
I can't let it go, oh**_

Sooner after leaving 'Levi's Store', Amy zipped down a long hallway as Shadow got dragged along. A few other customers jumped out of the way, since they were terrified with her sudden speed. Suddenly, Amy stopped and made Shadow fall on his face. She looked to her left and then smiled evilly. Apparently, she was ready for more. The next stop was at 'Aeropostale'. She zipped to the store as Shadow groaned in pain.

_**(Hook):**__**  
Know that I can't get over you  
'Cause everything I see is you  
And I don't want no substitute  
Baby I swear it's Deja Vu  
Know that I can't get over you  
'Cause everything I see is you  
And I don't want no substitute  
Baby I swear it's Déjà vu**_

Leaving Shadow behind, Amy went inside the next store and looked around. A sign that read **"50 Percemt off Price!" **caught her eyes. She smiled cheerfully and ran to the shelves. Within a couple of minutes, she found a couple of hoodies, two polos, and three Graphic T's! With that gift card, she didn't have to pay much. Back with Shadow, he slowly got up and arched his back for a small stretch. Unexpectedly, Amy came back out of the store with more bags, grabbed Shadow, and then took off again.

_**(Jay-Z Rap 2):**__**  
Yes! Hova's flow so unusual  
Baby, girl you should already know  
It's H-O, light up the dro'  
'Cause you gon' need help tryna study my bounce, flow, blow  
What's the difference?  
One, you take in vein while the other you sniffin'  
It's still dough, po-po try to convict him  
That's a no-go**_

Sometime later, Amy and Shadow ended up in front of 'Abercrombie & Fitch'. Amy gave Shadow her shopping bags and went inside. He struggled to stand up straight, but all of those bags were getting a little heavy all together. Instantly, Amy purchased a couple of skirts, fleece pants, and fashion jeans. After that, she came back out and took Shadow on another adventure throughout the mall.

_**My dough keep the scales tipping like 4-4's  
Like I'm from the H-O-U-S-T-O-N  
Blow, wind so Chicago of him  
Is he the best ever, that's the argu-a-ment  
I don't make the list, don't be mad at me  
I just make the hits, like a factory  
I'm just one-to-one, nothin' after me  
No Deja Vu, just me and my, Oh**_

Following that, Amy stopped at another department store called 'Macy's'. Shadow waited as usual when she dashed inside. That girl was not tired at all! Although, it was a pretty dumb question for Shadow to ask what she wanted to get. Like any other girls, she wanted clothes, nothing more. By the time Amy came back out, she had a couple of bags in her hands. In a bag on the left was filled with five swim wear, and in the other bag had about three shorts and evening dresses. Since Amy still had some money left, she decided to let Shadow take the lead. At first, he didn't want to get too spoiled like her. But when he touched that gift card, it happened…

_**(Bridge):**__**  
Baby I can't go anywhere  
Without thinking that you're there  
Seems like you're everywhere, it's true  
Gotta be having Deja Vu  
'Cause in my mind I want you here  
Get on the next plane, I don't care  
Is it because I'm missing you  
That I'm having Deja Vu **_

_**(Pre-hook):**__**  
Boy, I try to catch myself  
But I'm out of control  
Your sexiness is so appealing  
I can't let it go  
Whoo...**_

With Shadow in charged, he started rushing down the hallways as Amy held on tight to his left hand and her bags in her right. His first stop was at 'Kohl's'. He only bought a couple of casual shirts and pants that didn't cost too much. Next, he took Amy to 'Marshalls', where he only bought a few sweaters and pants. After he purchased his choices, he dragged Amy out and led her to 'Burlington's'. While Amy waited for him, he bought a large Jets jacket and a black cap with a diamond decorated skull on the front. Once he got out, it was Amy's turn to suffer…

_**(Hook):**__**  
Know that I can't get over you  
'Cause everything I see is you  
And I don't want no substitute  
Baby I swear it's Deja Vu  
Know that I can't get over you  
'Cause everything I see is you  
And I don't want no substitute  
Baby I swear it's Deja Vu **_

Know that I can't get over you  
'Cause everything I see is you  
And I don't want no substitute  
Baby I swear it's Deja Vu  
Know that I can't get over you  
'Cause everything I see is you  
And I don't want no substitute  
Baby I swear it's Déjà vu 

Near 4:00 p.m., Amy and Shadow finally left the mall. Through the whole day, they spent about $300! However, the prices would've cost more if they didn't have that gift card. After their wild shopping adventure, they got into Amy's car, and left the mall. And that day, both of them would never forget…

**SONG ENDS.**

To Be Continued.


	32. Chapter 32:Out to Lunch

Ch. 32: Out to Lunch

"Hey, I'm home-," Cream called out as she came into the room but stopped. "Whoa", she looked all over the room filled with shopping bags.

"Hey, Cream", Amy appeared out of the bathroom after she washed her face.

"Where did you go today?" Cream asked, still looking at the bags of clothes.

"Well…Me and Shadow went to 'Great Gold Mall' today", Amy explained nicely.

"Are you kidding me!?" Cream asked her in shock. "Do you know how much all of that stuff cost?!"

"Relax", Amy crossed her arms. "I was able to get all of this stuff with a gift card that Shadow gave me."

"That's nice", Cream gave her a jealous look and Amy stuck out her tongue. "Anyway, I got some homework to do", she sighed.

"I see", Amy noticed a few textbooks in Cream's arms. "In what?"

"Biology, Algebra, and History."

"Fine, fine", Amy walked to the couch and collapsed on it. "What a nice day…" she mumbled to herself to sleep.

"_Lucky",_ Cream thought to herself as she went to the kitchen area to do her homework.

The next day, Amy left her room to go to the café area of the hotel. Even though it was past noon, she didn't care about a thing. Luckily, she wasn't wearing her PJ's outside of her room so she wouldn't get embarrassed again. As she got out of the elevator, she froze. At the front desk was Sonic, who was talking to the concierge quietly. What in the world was he doing there? At first, Amy wanted to go back up to her room. Instead, she walked to Sonic calmly and patiently.

"Hey", Amy waved as she got up next to Sonic.

"Oh, hey there, Ames", Sonic turned to her with a smile.

"What are you doing here?"

"Um…are you…busy right about now?"

"No, why?"

"I just thought…" Sonic gulped a little. "…That, we could…have lunch together."

"Eh?" Amy raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why?"

"C'mon", Sonic gave her a playful punch on the arm. "We're friends, right?"

"Um…" Amy pondered to herself.

"I'll pay", Sonic pulled out a $50 bill.

"Ok", Amy suddenly said yes.

Formerly, they left the hotel. They walked to a local Pizza Hut restaurant, which was not too far from Emerald Hotel. Once they got there, they found a table for both of them at an empty corner. Before Amy could've sat down, Sonic rushed his way and pulled the chair out for her. She thanked him, yet she felt a little awkward being with him. But she wanted to hurry up and eat, because she didn't won't Shadow to notice. Sure he might be at work right now, but she'll never know what might happen later on. After Sonic ordered their food, they sat across each other quietly.

"_I don't get it", _Amy thought as she watched the employees doing their work. _"I mean, why would Sonic invite me out to lunch all of the sudden? This is weird…"_

"_Gosh, she looks so beautiful",_ Sonic thought as he studied her silently.

He couldn't keep his eyes off of her all of the sudden. All Amy had on was a black short sleeved city-style blouse that looked brand new. Also, she wore long black capris that matched her shirt and had on short black high heels. Her hair was done in a ponytail with a black ribbon on it. Also, Sonic noticed a beautiful necklace with a pink heart hanging on it. To Sonic, she looked divine in black. That made him like her even more. By the smell of some pizza, Sonic woke up.

"Here's your order", a geeky waiter sat down a plate of large cheese pizza.

"Thanks", Amy smiled as she looked at the food.

"You want anything to drink?" Sonic asked nicely.

"Just a medium sized Sprite, that's all", Amy answered.

"And you?" the waiter looked at Sonic.

"A large cup of Pepsi", Sonic replied.

"Coming right up", the waiter smiled and walked away.

After the waiter left, Amy kicked back so she could wait for the pizza to cool down. Sonic swift his eyes around a little, since he still couldn't stop looking at her new style. However, Amy couldn't bear to stop thinking why he would invite her out with him. Doesn't he already have a girlfriend? Well, since Sally was too mean for the outside world, it was Sonic's choice to take Amy out instead. However, that wasn't the case to him.

"So, um…How's the case?" Sonic asked.

"Kinda tricky, but ok", Amy replied without looking at him.

"I like your outfit", Sonic winked sweetly.

"Thanks", Amy smiled at him a little. "I just got this outfit yesterday at Great Gold Mall."

"Really?" Sonic widened his eyes in shock. "Cause, that stuff is pretty expensive."

"Yeah, well, I had a gift card", Amy brushed the bangs out of her face.

"Cool", Sonic nodded, almost studying her looks again.

The two of them were silent for the moment. Apparently, the damn waiter was taking too long. Still, Sonic didn't worry about that as much as Amy did. He was just glad that he was able to spend some time with his secret crush. Still, he had to things holding him back inside out. Sally and Shadow. He didn't want to think about them much, but he couldn't stop wondering about Amy and Shadow. Plus, he had no idea that they were together in the first place! So he had to be careful of what he says to Amy, because he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable around him. Although, he felt peace around Amy. As for Amy, she was still confused, and shy.

"Say um, Sonic?" Amy turned to him slowly.

"Yes?" Sonic sat up straightly.

"What you said after the funeral…was that all true?" Amy asked nervously.

"I…" Sonic tried to speak as he saw a sudden glimpse at the graveyard.

"_Just promise me this…" Sonic spoke sadly yet softly._

"_What?" Amy asked curiously._

"_Please, Amy. Promise me that you won't get hurt. Or Killed", Sonic answered._

""_What?" Amy widened her eyes in shock._

"_Just promise me", Sonic replied with tears in his eyes. "I don't want to lose you."_

Just after that flashback, Sonic blushed a little. It was a good thing that Sally didn't ask about their 'small talk'. But all he said was true. He wouldn't lie to Amy, because he wanted to protect her. All of those years in the past of lying to her, suddenly ended for him. He wanted to be honest and true to his old fan girl. For Amy, it was kind of nosy of her to ask that question. Still, she's with Shadow now. But was there an old feeling returning to her?

"Nevermind", Amy shook her head as she was about to take a slice of the pizza.

"Yes", Sonic answered calmly, even though he was very nervous.

"Huh?" Amy stopped and looked at him.

"All I said was true. I cannot lie."

"Why…did you say all of that?"

"Because…I care about you, Amy", Sonic looked at her with the same worried look on his face.

"Ah…" Amy hid her left arm behind her. "Really?"

"Yeah", Sonic swift his eyes to the side. "I know that we haven't spoken in a long time…But…" he stopped.

"But what?" Amy asked slowly.

Sonic bit his bottom lip hardly. A little bit of blood was falling out of it. Still, he didn't care about it. Amy gasped a little after seeing all of that blood. It seemed that Sonic couldn't speak. What was he about to say? Was he going to tell her that he loved her? Sure enough, Amy didn't want to dump Shadow so soon after all of those wonderful things he gave her. And as for Sally, what if she found out about this? Almost biting his lip harder, Sonic sighed slowly.

"You ok?" Amy asked lightly.

"Yeah", Sonic replied and licked the blood off of his lip. "It's just…I can't take it anymore."

"Of what?"

"Sally."

"Oh, her", Amy crossed her arms.

"I tried to calm her down, but she's getting worse!" Sonic explained briefly. "I mean, what am I supposed to do?"

"Remember what I said at the graveyard that day?" Amy reminded Sonic.

"Huh?" Sonic looked at her in awe as he saw a shorter retention.

"_If you don't want her…then leave her", Amy looked back at Sonic._

_Sonic gasped in shock after what she just said._

"Yeah", Sonic nodded after seeing that flashback. "But where would I go?"

"Anywhere", Amy replied. "As long as you're safe from Sally, then it's up to you."

"How do I do that?" Sonic asked desperately.

"I dunno", Amy rubbed the back of her head. "Just follow your heart, I guess."

The blue hedgehog widened his eyes in shock. Another surprising advice from Amy sure did make him jump a little. And yet, he could NOT believe that she just said that. Was she serious? To Amy, she felt like she helped him out enough. She didn't want anything to distract her case and on her relationship with Shadow. So that was her last advice to him. Finally, the waiter came back with their drinks.

"Sorry to keep you waiting", he said as he sat the drinks down on the table.

"No, its ok", Sonic replied kindly.

"Well…" Amy looked back at the delicious pizza. "Let's eat."

"How about a toast?" Sonic held up his glass cup of Pepsi.

"Ok", Amy held her glass of Sprite.

"To old friends", Sonic smiled.

"And to the new ones that'll come in the future", Amy added.

Both of them shared their toast and sipped some of their drinks out of the straws. After that, they began to eat their pizza. Their lunch had no intrusions at all that day…

To Be Continued.


	33. Chapter 33:Fainted

Ch.33: Fainted

Near midnight, a couple of high school students were walking through the empty streets of Little Street. One of them was a 16 year old female with long blonde hair with black streaks in it and the other one was the same age, except she had black hair with blonde streaks. Both of them wore their pajamas, robes, and house slippers. The blonde's outfit was blue while the brunette's was green. Apparently, the brunette had no idea what was going on. Her blonde friend dragged her out of her sleep just to take a long walk. Still, what was going on?

"Um, Sammy?" the brunette asked her friend. "What are we doing out here?"

"Don't chu get it, Kayla?" Sammy asked sarcastically. "We're gonna look for the killer."

"Wait, back up", Kayla suddenly stopped in awe. "Are you telling me that you dragged me out of my bed, took me on a long fucking walk, and now you're telling me that we're looking for the criminal?!" she yelled furiously.

"What's the matter?" Sammy looked back with a smirk. "Scared?"

"Um, the news did say that we should stay at home in all times", Kayla meddled with her fingers nervously.

"True", Sammy sighed. "However, I want to get a good look at that guy", she started playing with her flashlight.

"Why?"

"You know that one chick named 'Detective Rose'?"

"Yeah, I heard about her. She's cool."

"Indeed. But what if we brought down the killer before her?"

"Come on, that's impossible."

"Please", Sammy gave her another smirk. "If she can kick some ass, then so can we."

"But they said-," Kayla tried to reason with her best friend.

"Forget what the news said", Sammy scowled. "They don't know him. Yet, they never even met him."

Kayla gulped. She was getting scared of being out in the streets at night. Even though she tried to explain to her friend, she couldn't get Sammy's guard down. They were friends of course, but they were the complete opposite of each other. Sammy seems to be the 'dare devil' while Kayla's just a superstitious teenager that can sense something horrible that's going to happen. Still, she tried.

"Seriously, Sammy", Kayla spoke again as she looked around. "Let's just go home, ok? We got school tomorrow."

"Fuck school", Sammy snapped at her. "Besides, I wanna have an adventure, and that's what I'm going to get. If you don't wanna join, then go home like a little bitch!"

"Hey, watch it, Sammy", Kayla snapped back. "Do you not realize what might happen to you?"

Sammy sighed heavily as she crossed her arms. Even though her friend was afraid for her life, but that didn't matter much. She was just too nosy to find out about some things in life. In fact, she wasn't scared of the criminal at all! No matter what stories she heard about him, she didn't have a sense of fear. Only a sense of excitement. As for Kayla, she felt like giving up. But she still wanted to make sure that both of them would be back at home on time before their parents would notice.

"Whooooo", Sammy held the flashlight under her chin playfully.

"Knock it off, Sammy", Kayla crossed her arms.

"Oh, spooky guy, where are you?" Sammy teased as she walked backwards.

"Sammy-," Kayla whined cowardly.

"Come out, come out, where ever you are", Sammy kept walking backwards until she stopped in front of an alley.

"Sam!" Kayla gasped quietly.

"Relax", her annoying friend placed her hands on her hips. "Besides, there's no way that he can-," she scoffed until she was pulled into the dark corner. **"AAAHHH!!!"** she screamed.

"Sammy?" Kayla rubbed her eyes in surprise.

No response. There wasn't even a second scream from her best friend. The wind whistled as a few rain clouds gathered around the full moon. Worriedly, Kayla tip-toed to the spot where Sammy disappeared. She called out for her a few times, but there was no answer. More rain clouds began to form into the sky. Then a roar of thunder boomed the sky heavily and made Kayla jump. After a few more steps, she stopped. Further ahead, she saw her unconscious friend on the ground, lying on her stomach.

"S-S-S-Sam-m-m-m-m-y-y-y?" Kayla shivered in fear as she walked to her slowly.

Once she got up in front of Sammy's body, she stopped. The blonde didn't move an inch. Rain started pouring to the ground, but the untouched teenager didn't care. Carefully, she got on her knees, flipped her friend over…She gasped and then released a huge scream.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! SAMMY!!!"**

Lightning flashed the sky as the rain started pouring harder. Kayla's friend was found dead. As for her, she pulled out her T-Mobile cell phone and started dialing 9-1-1. She whimpered as she started biting her finger nails. Unluckily, she couldn't get a signal from the area that she was in. Twice unluckily, her cell phone was beginning to run out of batteries.

"Shit!" Kayla gasped as she dialed again. "C'mon, c'mon!"

As she waited for the second time, Grim appeared at the corner of a small department store. He walked to her slowly and silently. Kayla cursed the 'F' word angrily as she dialed the number again. This time, she was able to get the dial tone. She panted hardly and frightenedly and gulped down a large puke. Suddenly, her cell phone lost its power.

"What!?" Kayla looked at it with panic. "Shit, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" she tried tuning her cell phone back on with no success.

Before she could've stood up, a loud footstep was heard from behind. Kayla looked up and saw a figure with a large black hood covering his face. A louder lightning strike brightened the sky as he pulled out a pair of large, sharp, bloody scissors. Kayla gasped as she turned around and fell back. She was about to run away, but the mysterious man pinned her down and then lift up his weapon. By another lightning strike, she let out her last scream before death.

Two o'clock in the morning, the telephone rang in Amy's apartment. She sat up from her couch and yawned. Cream was asleep on the floor peacefully, so she didn't hear a thing. Quietly, Amy got out of her covers, walked over Cream, and picked up the phone. Before she could talk, she let out a huge yawn.

"Hello?"

"Amy!" Vector yelled surprisingly. "You're not gonna believe this!"

"What?" Amy rubbed her eyes.

"There's been another murder!"

"What-Where?"

"Down at 52nd and Little Street."

"Do I have to go there, when it's 2:00 in the morning?" Amy asked furiously.

"Yes", Vector answered calmly. "Just get here as fast as you can."

"Ok", Amy sighed lightly and then hung up.

Minutes later, Amy parked her car in front of a small department store. There on front of her was a large crowd of police cars. She covered her head with her raincoat hood and started walking through. As she spotted Espio, Charmy and Vector, she stopped and whistled for them. The trio turned to her and waved. She walked to them with another yawn.

"What's up?" she asked.

"You'll see", Espio led her into the small alley.

Both of them stopped as they came upon two dead bodies. They were females and looked like the age of 16. There was a large hole in the brunette's neck while there were a few cuts in the blonde's chest. All of that blood started forming and stretching through the ground. Some of the crimson red substance touched Amy's and Espio's shoes. Slowly, Amy took a couple of pictures of the dead women with her digital camera. Espio got down with his magnifying glass, just to see how deep the wound was.

All of the sudden, Amy began to feel dizzy. That has never happened to her before, but she was suffering it now. Her eyesight got a little blurry, her head started spinning slowly, and she started getting cold due to the rainy weather. Just seeing all of that blood was starting to scare her. How in the world could she be scared all of the sudden? Probably because that it happens in every corner in the city streets. But man, that Grim sure loves to kill! Suddenly, Amy began to have the same feeling like the time after Lucia told her how she escaped. After Espio got done examining, he got back up.

"Alright", he put his magnifying glass in his pocket. "That mark on the brunette's neck looks somewhat about 5 inches deep. As for the blonde's, all of those marks are about 4 inches. Well, on the top part of the chest, it looks 7 inches deep."

"SEVEN WHAT?!" Charmy and Vector exclaimed frightenedly.

"Didn't these girls know that there was a killer on the loose?" Espio crossed his arms as he looked at the dead teenagers.

"Maybe they were drunk", Vector took a small dumb guess.

"Right", Charmy sweatdropped. "Hey, I think they went to my school", he observed the two girls carefully.

"So it's like every teenage girl he kills, they're from Station Square High?" Vector asked.

"Maybe", Espio nodded. "Damn, that's a lot of blood", he commented on the blood that was gathering around his feet.

"Ohh", Amy fainted.

"Oh, my god!" Charmy gasped.

"Amy!" Vector got down and lift her head up. "Is she ok?"

"Hold on", Espio got down and checked her pulse. "Yeah, she's fine. I guess the rain must've done that to her."

"She might catch a cold", Charmy pointed out.

"True, true", Vector nodded.

"Maybe we should take her home", Charmy suggested.

"About that, Cream's asleep", Espio answered. "And I know she does NOT want to get up to answer the door. Matter of fact, you should go home yourself."

"But what about you?" Charmy asked.

"I'll take her to the hospital", Espio carried Amy in his arms gently. "Vector, take Charmy home."

"Roger", Vector did a false salute. "C'mon, Charmy", he walked through a small crowd of cops.

"Aw, man", Charmy whined as he followed.

"Hmm", Espio looked at Amy's unconscious face. _"I don't think the rain made her did that",_ he said in thought. _"I wonder what it was…"_


	34. Chapter 34:Visitors

Ch.34: Visitors

Sometime later, Espio took Amy to the hospital. Afterwards, he left and the nurses put Amy in a small bedroom so she could rest. She was still unconscious. All alone in the small dark room, she slept in a large white hospital's bed. However, the window near her bed suddenly opened.

Crawling in slowly was no other than Grim. No one even saw him coming up to her window in the first place! Since the detective was sound asleep, she didn't even hear a thing. The criminal quietly got in and stood up. Then he looked up ahead and saw his enemy in her own bed. He walked up to her patiently and calmly. By the time he reached up to Amy's bed, he stopped and pulled out a chef's knife. Opening her eyes, Amy looked up at him with fear and worry. The pink hedgehog tried to let out a scream, but her voice was silent. She couldn't talk, yell, or anything! She was doomed. A large stroke of lightning flashed through the window as Grim held up his knife.

"_Amy, wake up",_ a familiar voice echoed in her mind. _"Amy, wake up."_

"Whoa!" Amy sat up from the horrible nightmare and panted.

"You alright?" the familiar voice asked nicely.

"Eh?" Amy turned to her left. "Shadow?"

"Hey", the black hedgehog waved.

"What are you doing here?" Amy asked shyly.

"Visiting you, silly", Shadow winked. "I mean, I heard that you collapsed, and I decided to take my time to see you."

"Who told?" Amy asked again.

"I saw it on the news", Shadow explained.

"The what?!" Amy's eyes shot open.

"It was on this morning", Shadow backed up a little in fear.

"Crap", Amy sighed hardly. "I might become a laughing stock."

"Relax", Shadow gave her a playful punch on the arm. "Just ignore them."

Amy sighed again. She had no idea that she would be all of the news like that! And to think what the fans might say about her. As for the Chaotix, they probably made fun of her if they appeared on the news. But not all of that mattered to Amy. She began to wonder why she collapsed. Then she remembered something. The blood from the two dead teenagers somehow made her scared. Not only that, but the rain must've made her dizzy too. It was a good thing that she was just dreaming a while ago. Because the look of the criminal looked life threatening!

"You're on your break right now?" Amy turned to Shadow again.

"Yeah, I still got some time", Shadow replied as he looked at his watch. "How're you feeling?"

"Ok, I guess", Amy shrugged her shoulders. "This case is starting to get out of hand again. Two more girls were killed last night."

"Yuck", Shadow said in disgust.

"I dunno why, but I think I'm scared. Like, he might come after me", Amy hugged herself a little.

"Hey, now", Shadow rubbed her cheek softly and she blushed. "Chin up."

Meanwhile, Sonic was walking down the hallway to locate Amy's room. He didn't want the nurse to show him because he figured he could find the room himself. A short time later, he found the door that led Amy's room. Before he could've opened the door, he stopped. He looked through the window and noticed that someone was already in there. Across the room, he saw Shadow and Amy talking to each other. Something started tingling inside him again, just like before at the football game. Jealousy, anger, and heartbroken. He didn't want to face Shadow in front of Amy because he had a feeling that she might get mad at him. He sat down a small bouquet of pink flowers and walked away.

"You're not busy tonight, are you?" Shadow asked Amy.

"No, why?" Amy asked back nervously.

"Well, I was kind of wondering if you wanna go on a date tonight", Shadow rubbed the back of his head with a blushy smile.

"Tonight, where?" Amy asked with a blush.

"Well…It's a surprise."

"Really?"

"C'mon, you'll love it. I'm just taking you out to dinner tonight."

"Cool, where?"

"I'm not telling. It's a surprise."

"Well…" Amy pondered for a moment. "I dunno, I might have work to do-Wait, what are you doing?" she asked Shadow, who was standing with two defibrillators in his hands.

"Well, I'm gonna shock you until you say yes", Shadow winked with tease.

"Um, don't come near me with those things-," Amy moved to the side slowly.

"CLEAR!" Shadow shouted as he came closer to Amy.

"Ok, ok, I'll go! I'll go!" Amy blocked her chest.

"I'm just kidding", Shadow laughed. "They're not even plugged on."

Amy sighed in relief. That was close. Would Shadow really do that? Even though it was a joke, it seemed like a threat to Amy. But good thing that it was just a joke though.

Espio was walking in the hospital to visit Amy. He didn't bring any gifts because he didn't have any money with him. After he told the front desk that he was a visitor, he searched to find Amy's room. Before long, a certain blue hedgehog passed by and kept on going. Espio looked back and watched Sonic dashing out of the door. He blinked twice.

"_What was that all about?"_ he asked in thought.

A few minutes later, Amy and Shadow walked out of the room as they held their hands. Suddenly, Amy stepped on something on the floor. She looked down and picked up a small bouquet of beautiful pink flowers. At first she blushed, but then she shook her head. Shadow looked at them too, but was also wondering where they came from. Espio stopped as he came across Amy. He looked at the flowers as he raised an eyebrow.

"Who gave you those?" Espio asked curiously.

"I dunno", Amy looked at the flowers again. "Anyway, what brings you here?" she looked back at Espio.

"Well, I thought that we could talk in business", Espio crossed his arms. "If that's not a problem to you…" he overlooked at Amy's and Shadow's hands together.

""No, not at all", Shadow shrugged his shoulders.

"_Ooh, that Espio!"_ Amy thought with rage. _"He keeps spoiling our romantic moments!"_

Espio rolled his eyes up to the ceiling so he wouldn't look at Amy's eyes of anger. As for Shadow, he ignored those looks. Actually, it did scare him a little also. He sighed before Amy could've gone out of control. That luckily caught her attention.

"See ya", Shadow smiled at her.

"Yeah", Amy nodded.

Just in a blink of an eye, Shadow gave Amy a long passionate kiss on her lips! Her eyes popped open as her face blushed red. Espio looked away since he didn't watch another romantic moment. Not only that, he felt like she was just wasting her time getting a boyfriend. But was something else on his mind besides that? Finally, Shadow released his lips and left his beloved behind. Amy didn't want him to go. In fact, she really wished that Espio wouldn't interrupt them so much. After a couple of minutes of silence, Espio looked back at her.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yeah", Amy nodded.

Both of them left the hospital. Minutes later, Espio drove Amy home in her own car. At first, she got mad about it. But then, she thanked him for not getting in a wreck. During the drive, Amy was quiet again. As for Espio, he could tell what was going on in her mind, besides Shadow. It was Grim. Her fear was getting worse. Since Amy was bored, she turned the bouquet around and found a tag on it. It read:

_To: Amy_

_From: Sonic_

His name made Amy shocked. Why would he buy her flowers all of the sudden? Even though that they're friends, but something kept bugging Amy in thought. Does Sonic…have a crush on her?

(Amy's P.O.V.)

_I was surrounded by two guys. Shadow and Sonic. Even though I didn't love Sonic anymore, it made me feel that he was starting to like me all of the sudden. But he didn't even know that me and Shadow were going out. Plus, I was about to go on a date with Shadow that night. Still…I felt something old. Memories. Those good ole days when Sonic, I, and the others always sticked together to save the world from Dr. Eggman. Not only that, but those moments when I used to be crazy in love with Sonic. However, he didn't love me back. So why was he trying to turn the story around? At that moment, I felt between two men inside…_

To Be Continued…


	35. Chapter 35:The 'BEST' Gift Ever

Ch.35: The 'BEST' Gift Ever

Later that night, Amy was growling and pacing back and forth. Cream was watching TV on the couch, but couldn't concentrate because of her friend's sudden anger. All of the sudden, Amy pounded herself slightly a few times. Even though Cream got a little scared of her, she still wanted to help. So she had to ask.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm going on a date tonight", Amy replied as she continued pacing. "But I don't even know what to wear."

"Um…You got any choices?" Cream asked nicely.

"These", Amy pulled out a couple of dresses. "And these are brand new too."

Cream examined both the dresses held in Amy's hands. On the left was a short blue 'Sean John' satin halter dress with a few glitters on it. The one on the right was a short black London sequined dress with a small belt tied to the side into a bow and had polyester/silk designs on it. Both of them were from Macy's, one of the places where Amy shopped at the mall. At first, Cream looked over to the dress on the left. Then the one on the right. She sighed as she pointed at the black dress, since it looked more gorgeous than the other.

"That one."

"Cool, thanks", Amy rushed into the bathroom to change.

Sometime later, Amy came back out. The dress on her fit perfectly! Luckily, she had some small black heels that matched her dress very well. Her hair was down with a few curls at the bottom, the red lipstick made her lips pretty, and her eyelashes were curved nicely to the side. Cream's jaws dropped in shock and jealousy. She has never seen Amy dress up like that before! It was surprising, considering that she doesn't dress up at a night like this.

"You look great!" Cream commented.

"Thanks", Amy winked.

A sudden knock was heard from the door as Amy and Cream turned to it. The pink hedgehog squealed as she hopped up and down.

"It's him, it's him!" she ran to the door, amazingly that she was in her heels.

Before she could've opened the door, she took a deep breath. Slowly yet excitedly, she opened the door. And there, was her date, Shadow. He looked very handsome as she looked beautiful. He had on a nice looking black suit with a long tie and had a rose in a square pocket. Just after he took one look at her, his eyes widened in shock.

"Whoa", was the only ting that Shadow could say.

"You like?" Amy winked.

"Yeah", Shadow smiled with a huge red blush.

"Later, Cream", Amy waved.

"Have fun", Cream waved back.

Amy closed the door behind her. Shadow pulled the red rose out of his pocket and gave it to her. She smiled and took his hand. They walked down the hallway together.

"So, where are we going?" she asked kindly.

"You'll love it", Shadow smiled. "Besides, I'll drive."

"You have a car?" Amy asked in shock.

Outside, Amy took a good look at Shadow's car. It was a brand new 2007 GT-R sportscar. Damn, that Shadow must've saved a lot of money, because it looked so cool! Although, Amy felt a little jealous because she had a feeling that his car was better looking than her's. Shadow pulled out a small remote and the car doors opened automatically.

"Whoa…" Amy said in awe.

"Hop in", Shadow winked at her.

Meanwhile, Espio, Charmy, and Vector were on their way to the hospital. They just took off from their house, so they had a long way to go. They were about to check on Lucia, Ana, and Mighty just to see how they were doing. As Vector and Charmy sat in the front listening to some loud rap music, Espio sat in the back. He had his ears covered because he didn't want to go deaf. After the song ended, it went onto commercials. Vector turned down the radio as Charmy yawned.

"Enjoying the ride back there?" Vector asked Espio.

"I would if you didn't have that music up so loud", the chameleon replied.

"Hater", Charmy teased.

"Whatever", Espio rolled his eyes.

"Hmm", Vector looked at Espio from his rear window.

The purple chameleon was awfully quiet. Come to think of it, he's been quiet ever since he dropped Amy off home from the hospital. In Espio's mind, he was feeling something. He was thinking about her to himself. At that moment, Vector grinned evilly.

"Whatcha thinking about?"

"Nothing", Espio sighed.

"You know, you've been very quiet lately. Mind telling us what's on your mind?" Vector asked nicely.

"It's nothing", Espio replied the same answer.

"Are you sure?" Charmy looked at him oddly as he widened his light brown eyes.

"Yeah", Espio looked away with a sweatdrop.

"Ok", Vector paid attention to the road. "Whatever you say."

"Yeah", Espio crossed his arms. _"I wonder if Amy's ok",_ he thought worriedly.

Minutes later, Shadow and Amy ended up at 'Italian Paradise'. It was a fancy Italian restaurant that was located near the park. The two hedgehogs walked in and went up to the reservation desk and were luckily first in line. Amy looked around. The restaurant looked almost like a ball room in a huge kingdom. Most of the musicians were violists, who were playing a nice, soft, gentle tone.

"Welcome to **_Italian Paradise_**", the butler greeted. "Do you have reservation?"

"Why yes we do", Shadow replied politely. "Just a table for me and the beautiful Detective Rose."

"Detective Rose?!" the butler gasped happily. "Oh, my goodness, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Yeah, hi", Amy nodded with a small sweatdrop.

"Ah, I have a table just for the two of you", the butler got out of his seat and led them the way.

"Ok", Amy blinked curiously.

A little while later, the butler took Amy and Shadow to a balcony with plenty of space. A table was set with a couple of bottles of wine in a bowl of ice. Also, a couple of cupcake scent candles stood each side of the large bowl. Both Amy and Shadow took their seats across from each other. They took a look at their menus and examined them carefully.

"What will you have tonight?" the butler asked nicely as he pulled out a notepad.

"Hmm…I'll take the 'Cheese Ravioli', 'Tuscan Garlic Chicken', and a 'Steak Toscono", Shadow listed.

"And you, Ms. Rose?" the butler wrote down Shadow's order.

"I'm gonna take some 'Chianti Braised Short Ribs', 'Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad', and some breadsticks with alfredo dipping sauce", Amy answered.

"Very good", the butler wrote down her order. "We shall have the meals prepared right away", he walked away.

Amy sighed as she looked at the sky. The full moon looked very beautiful along with a few stars shining around it. Also, the slow symphony music did somehow relax her nervousness. It was so cool that Amy and Shadow were able to get a special somewhat V.I.P. seat with some (well, a little) reservation. Shadow pulled out a small gift wrapped in a red colored paper. For some decoration, it had a pink bow tied around it.

"I thought I would give you this", Shadow spoke and Amy turned to him.

"What?"

"This", the black hedgehog handed Amy his gift.

Amy took a good look at it. The size of the gift looked very small. She slowly untied the bow and unwrapped the gift. After she took one good look at it, she gasped.

**"OH, MY GOD, THIS IS AWESOME!!"** she exclaimed happily as she hopped out of her chair.

"Um, Amy-," Shadow tried to calm her down.

"I mean, I can't believe that you took your time to find Fergie's first album! That's so sweet!" Amy looked at the album cover proudly.

"Am-," Shadow looked around to see if anyone was starring at his loud mouthed date.

"This is the best gift ever, Shadow!" Amy turned to him.

"Yeah, I knew you like it-Hump!" he spoke, but he suddenly had his neck wrapped around tightly by Amy's arms.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you so much, Shadow! Now I love you even more!" Amy smiled with joy and gave him a long loveable kiss on the lips.

As she released him, he panted in exhaustion. Perhaps, that was the wrong thing to do. Possibly, it would've been better if he gave her the gift before or after their date. At least, he was glad to make her smile. Amy sighed peacefully as she sat back down in her seat. A few other couples looked at her oddly with sweatdrops. Man, she was loud! Obviously, her cheerings somehow echoed the whole area.

"Anyway", Shadow popped open a bottle of grape wine. "Let's share a toast", he poured some in his and Amy's glass dinner cups.

"Yes, we shall", Amy sat her new CD down and took her glass.

"To our togetherness", Shadow held his cup up a little.

"For now and forever", Amy appended and they shared their romantic toast.

Both of them drank up their wine slowly. After Shadow got done with his, he got up and walked to Amy. Slowly, he bent down for her lips. He then lift up her chin and began to kiss her passionately. Amy closed her eyes and deepened her's. Shadow closed his eyes too. Love, passion, and friendship-all of those elements were flowing through them. Their night was like a beautiful fairy tale to them…

To Be Continued…


	36. Chapter 36:I'm Leaving

Ch.36: I'm leaving

Midnight stroked every clock in the city. Most of the citizens were asleep so they could get up in the morning so they could go to work. However, there was only one person that couldn't sleep. That person was Sonic. Sure he was in the bedroom, but he couldn't shut his eyes. Sally was asleep as she tossed herself to her side so she could get some room. Luckily, she was very tired. Poor Sonic kept having bad days every now and then. If only Sally wasn't so mean, then he would've probably bought that ring for her. But now, it was personal. He was getting tired of all of this madness. All the advices Amy gave him sort of cheered him up. He knew what he had to do. He was going to leave his beloved Sally.

Guardedly, the blue hedgehog got out of the bed. As his girlfriend started snoring, he put on a pair of jeans and a clean white T-shirt. Then, he put on his favorite pair of red and white shoes. After that, he pulled some more clothes out of the drawers and placed them in a suitcase. As soon as he got done, he stood up. He took one last look at Sally. They've been together for so long, but that Sally has been ruining their relationship. She has changed a lot. Changing from a nice and kind woman into a cold hearted and snobby princess. Sonic just couldn't take it anymore. The drama, the arguments, and the sadness-all of that was killing him inside. So this was his only chance to leave. Quietly, Sonic walked out of the bedroom and walked down the stairs.

(BGM plays 'So Sick' by Ne-yo)

A heard of thunder was coming from outside. Then Sonic noticed that it was about to rain. By a couple of lightning flashes, he made it to the front door. Before he could've opened the door, he stopped. Someone was behind him. He turned around and found Sally with her arms crossed and was wearing a long green robe.

"Sally", Sonic spoke softly.

"Where are you going?" Sally asked coldly.

"Sally, I….Our relationship is falling apart", the blue hedgehog answered calmly.

"Explain how", Sally said sarcastically.

"Well…You've changed, Sal", Sonic looked away from her. "I mean, you suddenly became a snobby, mean, and impatient woman. Everyday is a bad day for me."-

"Don't give me that bullshit", Sally stopped him.

"Like that", Sonic pointed out. "You've never been so mean to me before. Or to anyone else."

_(Ne-yo, intro):_

_Mmmm mmm yeah  
Do do do do do do do-do  
Ohh Yeah_

"That's because I don't want anyone to get in our way", Sally replied.

"No one's trying to, Sal. See, you take things too far, no matter how small the subjects are", Sonic replied back.

"Then why are you about to leave?" Sally asked the same question.

"Because…I can't take it any longer."

"Any longer of what?"

"Everything."

Sally looked away with an angry look on her face. She didn't want Sonic to leave her. Even though Sonic felt bad for her, he could tell that she would do anything to keep him under her heel. It was time for him to move on. Just to think his life could be happy with her, which was all wrong. Happiness became sadness, brightness burnt into darkness. So it was up to Sonic to set things right for the both of them.

_(Verse 1):_

_Gotta change my answering machine  
Now that I'm alone  
Cuz right now it says that we  
Can't come to the phone  
And I know it makes no sense  
Cuz you walked out the door  
But it's the only way I hear your voice anymore_

"If you leave, then what am I supposed to do?" Sally asked Sonic with a little bit of sadness.

"…Then just be happy without me", Sonic answered.

"But…nothing will be the same once you're gone", Sally swift her eyes to him madly.

"I know", Sonic looked down to his feet. "Still, it has to be done."

"What?" Sally yelled at him furiously. "What are you talking about?"

_(It's ridiculous)  
It's been months  
And for some reason I just  
(can't get over us)  
And I'm stronger than this  
(enough is enough)  
No more walkin round  
With my head down  
I'm so over being blue  
Cryin over you_

"What I'm saying is…That I'm leaving you, Sally", Sonic looked at her sadly. "I'm not in love with you anymore. You are not the one."

"No", Sally shook her head. "No, you're not. I mean, think how much we've been through."

"Yeah, right", Sonic rolled his eyes sarcastically. "All I can remember from you was that you became a crazy bitch."

"Why, you little-," Sally prepared to slap him.

Before her palm reached Sonics face, he grabbed her wrist slightly. The Acorn girl gasped in shock. They became silent as rain began to fall from the sky. Obviously, Sonic didn't want to stick around for good. She always cursed at him, slapped him, and brutally broke his heart. At that moment, Sonic looked at her with brave tears.

_(Chorus):_

_And I'm so sick of love songs  
So tired of tears  
So done with wishing you were still here  
Said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow  
So why can't I turn off the radio?_

"Not this time", Sonic spoke as he released Sally's hand.

"Sonic…" Sally widened her eyes.

"It's over", Sonic turned around and opened the door.

"Fine", Sally crossed her arms. "Go on and live out in the streets. Nobody loves you anyway."

"Say what you want", Sonic picked up his suitcase. "But I'll find happiness one day", he looked back.

"Hm", Sally nodded. "Have it your way then."

"Huh?" Sonic looked at her with shock.

_(Verse 2):_

_Gotta fix that calendar I have  
That's marked July 15th  
Because since there's no more you  
There's no more anniversary  
I'm so fed up with my thoughts of you  
And your memory  
And how every song reminds me  
Of what used to be_

"For the past two months, I've been seeing someone else", Sally confessed.

"You were…cheating on me?" Sonic asked sadly yet angrily.

"So?" Sally asked sarcastically. "At least he loves more."

_(Chorus):_

_That's the reason I'm so sick of love songs  
So tired of tears  
So done with wishing you were still here  
Said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow  
So why can't I turn off the radio?_

Sonic couldn't believe his eyes. How could she do that to him? He gave her everything at his best, but she just tossed them away like garbage. Even though he was angry with her, he was somehow a little bit glad for her. At least, she was happier with him. So he thought it would be best if she went on with her secret lover.

"Very well then", Sonic sighed softly. "I hope that you two will find happiness for each other."

"Thanks", Sally looked away again.

"Bye, Sal", Sonic turned back to the doorway.

"Bye", Sally answered in an uncaring voice.

_(Bridge):_

_(Leave me alone)  
Leave me alone  
(Stupid love songs)  
Don't make me think about her smile  
Or having my first child  
I'm letting go  
Turning off the radio_

Sonic took a deep breath. Now they just had a divorce. He has seen some dramatic soap operas on the TV once, but this scene was a reality. He was about to leave his woman like any man would when he didn't love her anymore. With nothing else to say, Sonic stepped out in the cold rain and walked away. Sally watched a little and then closed the door. As she locked it, Sonic took off with his fast speed. Since Sonic was gone, the mansion felt empty with Sally inside. However, she didn't really care, because she had someone else to love. She walked back upstairs to go back to bed.

Minutes later, Sonic made it to the train station. At first he wanted to go to Emerald Hotel, but he had a feeling that Amy wouldn't appreciate it. He was also going to find Knux and Rouge's house, but he didn't know where that lived at. Plus, he didn't want to be around a couple of wannabe gangsters. Third, he wanted to see if the Chaotix would let him stay for a while, but he figured that they didn't have enough room for one more. There was one more place that he had in mind. Tails' workshop at the Mystic Ruins. They haven't spoken to each other in while after Sonic and Sally got together, so he was wondering how much his best friend has changed. As he rode on the train, he laid on his seat quietly and calmly. He was the only one on the whole train as it drove automatically.

_(Chorus):_

_Cuz I'm so sick of love songs (Hey)  
So tired of tears (so tired of tears)  
So done with wishing she was still here (Ohh)  
Said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow(Ohh)  
So why can't I turn off the radio?  
(Why can't I turn off the radio?)_

After Sonic made it to the Mystic Ruins, he stepped out of the door. A lot of rain was pouring down to the ground. Also, some was falling on the poor blue hedgehog. He walked down the stairs and went up to Tails' workshop. He knocked on the front door so he could get an answer. Unfortunately, the orange fox was asleep in his bedroom upstairs. He snored loudly so he didn't hear a thing. Not only that, he also had on some ear plugs so he wouldn't hear the loud thundering and lightning from outside. Along with that, he had on a blindfold to keep his eyes closed so he wouldn't see the lightning striking the sky.

As the rain continued pouring from the sky, Sonic stopped knocking on the door. Was Sally right about that nobody loved him? He shook his head so he wouldn't believe it. This was his last place he picked to stay for a while. Since there was no where else to go, he turned around and sat down. He rested his chin on his knees as he hugged them. Every flashback came into his mind. When he and Sally first met, their first kiss, and then the madness that they've been through. He could never forget that time when they had a huge argument after the football game until she smacked him across the face aggresively. The pain still tingled inside Sonic's cheeks. His bruises were able to heal up but still had those hand marks on them that showed a little bit of red on them. Their relationship was now over. However, he was alone. He felt like he was tossed into a hole of darkness like Amy. She told him everything to help me out and he took her advice. Still, he wished that he wouldn't have to go through this.

_Man, I'm so sick of love songs  
So tired of tears (so tired of tears)  
So done with wishing she was still here  
Said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow(Hey)  
So why can't I turn off the radio?  
(Why can't I turn off the radio?)_

Sonic closed his eyes and began to have tears. Who knew that a hero like him would go through so much in his life? Sadly, he began to cry. His teardrops fell to on his knees as so did the rain. His heart was torned apart, and he could feel that. Through his life, he had happiness and love. That was until Sally switched around and torned everything apart.

_And I'm so sick of love songs  
So tired of tears  
So done with wishin' you were still here  
Said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow  
Why can't I turn off the radio?  
(Why can't I turn off the radio?)  
Why can't I turn off the radio?_

Now Sonic was free. But he was beginning to feel trap inside a full room of sadness. All of the pieces of his heart were broken, inside and out. He had no one to love, no one to hold, and no one to kiss. Then he began to think about Amy. He only wished that he was with her right now. Right now, hugging her so she could hug him back. Although, Amy didn't love him anymore since he went on with his ex, Sally. Plus, he figured that Amy liked Shadow more than him anyway. He only wished that he could thank her and that she would give him comfort from being hurt. He sobbed to himself until he felt tired. Later on, he lay on to the side, rested his head on his suitcase like a pillow, and hugged himself to sleep…

_Song Ends._

To Be Continued…


	37. Chapter 37:Lucia's Idea

Ch.37: Lucia's Idea

The next day, the sunlight shone through the window in Tails' bedroom. By the sound of some flickie chirps, he sat up on his bed. He yawned as he took off his blindfold and his ear plugs. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at his alarm clock. The time read 10:00 a.m. Last night, he did get extremely tired after he worked so hard on his plane called the Tornado. Finally, Tails got out of his bed in his long American flag designed pajamas.

He walked downstairs as he continued his yawning. A moment later, he sat on the couch and turned on the TV. Nothing was on except some stupid commercials. Every single channel he turned to only show commercials. Tails got up from the couch and left the TV on. Before he went to the kitchen, he stopped.

"Wait, I wonder if the newspaper is here today", Tails said to himself as he walked to the front door.

Freely, Tails opened his front door. The sun was shining peacefully as a few clouds passed by. From the looks of the sky, it seemed like it was going to be a nice day. It was pretty hard to believe that since it rained last night. Tails took a deep breath.

"What a gorgeous day-," he took a couple of steps and then stopped.

His foot accidentally bumped onto something. Tails looked down to see who it was. On the soft muddy ground was a familiar blue hedgehog. His clothes were all wet and he was sound asleep. He had his head on the suitcase to make it as a pillow to him. Tails gasped in fear and shock.

"Sonic?" he blinked and then rubbed his eyes. "Oh, my god, what happened to you?"

Back at the hospital, the nurse was just finishing unwrapping Lucia's bandages off of her arms. Mighty held Ana in his arms as he cooed in a dumbfounded tone. Ana began to giggle as Mighty wiggled his tongue around. After the nurse took off the last bandage, Lucia looked at her arms. All of her bruises were gone and she felt normal again. Not to mention the pain inside her body suddenly disappeared.

"There you are", the red headed nurse smiled. "Do you need anything?" she asked nicely.

Lucia shook her head. She didn't want anything at all. Actually, she wanted that annoying nurse to go away. Since she was feeling better now, she can finally go home. Hopefully, she didn't have to end up in the retched hospital again.

"I'll just go tell the doctor that you're feeling ok", the nurse smiled and walked out of the room.

"…Molestar a ramera pequeña (Annoying little bitch)", Lucia crossed her arms.

"Hm?" Mighty looked up as Ana continued to giggle.

"Nothing", Lucia sighed and laid back.

"Well, anyway, you'll be going home in a little while", Mighty started a friendly discussion.

"Home?" Lucia blinked twice.

"You know, back at the apartment", Mighty answered.

"…I can't", Lucia looked up at the ceiling.

"Why not?" Mighty looked up at her curiously.

"Don't chu see? If I go back, then Grim might come out of nowhere and attack me. Just like the time when you found Ana", Lucia stated.

"Oh, yeah", Mighty sighed slowly. "But where are you supposed to go?"

"Good question", Lucia pondered for a moment.

She was right about one thing. That Grim would sure come out of nowhere when she won't even know it. She had to find a safe place for her and Ana for a while. At least, until he's finally put to jail for good. She couldn't afford to move to a different apartment, nor did she have a job yet. Something then came up into her mind. There was only one thing to do.

"Say", Lucia turned to Mighty with a smile. "Since I don't have anywhere else to go, why not let me and Ana stay at your place?"

"Wait, what?" Mighty paid attention to Lucia all of the sudden.

"Well, we're not gonna stay that long", Lucia explained. "We're just gonna stick around until Grim gets put to jail. I mean, that doesn't too much to ask, right?" she winked at him.

"Gee, um…" Mighty swift his eyes around with a pink blush on his cheeks."I dunno…"

"Please?" Lucia begged nicely. "We have nowhere else to go."

"Yeah, but still…" Mighty continued to swift his eyes around.

"Ah, usted es tan afortunado que usted está en un hospital en este momento (Oh, you are so lucky that you're in a hospital right now)", Lucia grabbed on Mighty's jacket collar roughly. " ¡Si usted dice que no, entonces yo le mataré (If you say no, then I'll kill you)!"

"Ok, ok, you're in", Mighty nodded his head nervously.

"Gracias (Thanks)", Lucia winked and went back to her bed.

"Geez", Mighty sweatdropped.

A little while later, Espio came by and saw Lucia, Ana, and Mighty leaving the room. Lucia had on her pink dress again, only this time she had a pair of white pants to go along with it.

"What did they say?" Espio asked Mighty.

"They said that she and Ana can go home", Mighty explained. "However", he led Espio to a corner where Lucia couldn't see them. "Look, you want Lucia to be safe until Grim is gone, right?"

"Yeah", Espio crossed his arms.

"But, um…If we let her go back to the apartment, then Grim might come out of nowhere to attack her, like he did to me."

"True, true", Espio nodded.

"So, um…Why don't we let Lucia and Ana stay with us for a while?" Mighty suggested kindly.

"Well…hopefully, the place has room for them", Espio pondered to himself.

"Great", Mighty said happily and he and Espio appeared out of the corner.

Lucia turned to them curiously. As for Ana, she starred at them oddly with a small sweatdrop. Mighty cleared his throat. Before he could've said anything, Espio spoke first.

"Alright, you're in, welcome."

"Thanks!" Lucia smiled with joy.

"Yeah", Mighty cheered weakly. _"I wonder what Vector and Charmy are going to say once we tell them about this",_ he thought with a nervous smile.

To Be Continued…


	38. Chapter 38:Tails' Unforgotten Lesson

Ch.38: Tails' Unforgotten Lesson

An hour later, Sonic opened his eyes. He looked around and found himself a large wooden house. Apparently, he was inside Tails' workshop. On his right, the television was on as it showed some idiotic cartoons. The blue hedgehog slowly sat up and yawned loudly. His nose tickled as he smelled some food. He got up from the couch and walked to the kitchen table. On the plate, it had three blueberry pancakes with rich syrup on them, five pieces of crispy bacon, and two sort of burnt sausages. A note was placed on the side of the plate. Sonic picked it up and looked at it. It read:

_If you need anything, I'm in the garage_

_-Tails_

Sonic blinked twice. So that's where his long time friend was at. And it was nice of him to make some breakfast for the poor hero. After Sonic read the note, he sat down and began to eat.

Later on after he ate, Sonic went outside at the front. The garage door was open and he saw Tails taking a break from his work on his plane. He chugged a bottle of water down within 10 seconds! That kid hasn't changed a bit. Except that his bangs have grew a little longer and that he looked like he grew taller. He was seen in some dirty engineering clothes with black spots on them. Sonic smiled as he walked to him.

"Hey", he waved.

"Sonic, you're awake", Tails stood up from his chair with excitement.

"Man, you've grown a little taller", Sonic noticed his buddy's new height.

"Yeah", Tails examined Sonic's height. "We're at the same height."

"I guess no one will call you shortie anymore, right?" Sonic laughed a little.

"Yeah, I guess", Tails sighed as he crossed his arms. "Anyway, how're you feeling?"

"I'm ok", Sonic sort of lied.

"Say…You weren't outside my house all night last night, right?" Tails asked nervously.

"Yeah, I think so", Sonic pondered for a moment.

Tails gasped with sadness and shock. Now he felt bad for leaving Sonic out in the cold rainy night. He wished that he could just go back so that way Sonic didn't have to sleep outside like that. And man, he felt really bad for his best friend.

"I'm so sorry!" Tails apologized sadly. "It's just that I was very tired last night, and the thunderstorm was getting on my nerves-Ugh, I wish I didn't have on my stupid ear muffs on last night-Dang it, I'm so sorry-Man, you could catch a cold somehow-Man, I am so sorry-," he spoke a little too fast for Sonic to understand him.

"It's ok, Tails", Sonic sweatdropped.

"Oh, good", Tails sighed in relief. "So anyway, what brought you here?"

"Well, I thought…That I could stay somewhere for a while", Sonic replied as he looked away a little.

"Why?" Tails asked again with a blink.

"Um…" Sonic tried to speak, but tried to hold back his tears.

Tails widened his eyes in shock. He has never seen Sonic like that before. He could tell that something was on the blue hero's mind, because he overlooked at Sonic's clenched fists. As for Sonic, he didn't really want to explain the whole thing. Still, they were friends. Friends are supposed to stick together. Not only that, they're supposed to help each other. Once Sonic thought all of that, he sighed.

"You remember that time when me and Sally went out?"

"Yeah", Tails pondered for a moment. "It's been a long time."

"Well…We got into a divorce…last night", Sonic answered softly.

"No way", Tails turned to him in shock. "Are you serious!?"

"Yeah", the blue hedgehog nodded. "Apparently, I had to leave her, because we couldn't work things out."

"Whoa, I'm sorry to hear that", Tails said with sorrow.

"Don't be", Sonic shook his head slowly.

"Why not?" Tails asked.

"Well…Let's just put that to the side, ok?"

"Hmm. What'd she say?"

"She just told me to have it my own way…Plus, she was seeing someone else."

"No", Tails gasped cheerlessly. "That's bad."

"Yeah…Bullshit", Sonic narrowed his eyes with a few tears. "It was so nerve wrecking…I mean, why did my life began to crumble into hell?"

Tails gasped to himself. He remembered those words exactly. Those words, he used to say that to himself when he left down. It seemed that Sonic was suffering the depression now. Just seeing him with tears reminded Tails of how he used to be before. All of those sad and horrible memories came to him. He remembered that he cried for a few days after Cosmo dumped him. After that, he met a couple of emos and they told him that he could be cool if he acted like them. Soon afterwards, he did. Everyday since then, he'd always listen to some Goth music and barely cut himself with knives. Tails could still remember that because he had on a few bandages on his arms and legs. This was his only chance to save Sonic before it would be too late for him.

"You're wrong", the orange fox spoke up.

"Huh?" Sonic looked at him.

"You're life is not crumbling to hell. You may think that you're happiness is turning into sadness…well, that's how it is."

"What are you talking about?" Sonic asked curiously.

"I'm saying…That you should cheer up, Sonic", Tails replied slowly.

"How can I?" Sonic asked bitterly. "I mean, what good am I when it comes to love? I can't have it, and I can't even keep it."

"Hey, now", Tails began to explain. "I know that you've been going out with her for a while, but you've got to cheer up."

"What?" Sonic asked calmly.

"You're not the only one that's going through this", Tails replied and that shocked Sonic. "I mean, I felt the same way when Cosmo dumped me."

"You went out with Cosmo?" Sonic asked in shock.

"For about three years", Tails answered. "I started feeling depressed for a while until I realized that I can't just give up. Life is short, Sonic. But if you continue to be this way, then you'll life will be even shorter than now. You just gotta be patient. Being single's not easy, I know. But you just got to take a chance to get yourself back together…"

"Tails…" Sonic starred at him in awe. "Who told you all of that?"

"Amy", the fox replied with a small smile on his face.

A small gasp came out of Sonic's mouth. He never thought that Amy would've been a life-saver to Tails. Not only that, she taught him a lot. She was like the teacher and he was her pupil. As for Sonic, she gave all the advices she gave him so he could keep things together for him and Sal. Although, there was a couple of important sentences that echoed in Sonic's mind thoroughly.

"_If you don't want her, then leave her."_

"_Just follow your heart, I guess."_

So far, Sonic could understand everything. He has left his beloved, but he still had a chance to start over with someone else. But he had to take his time, like Tails was doing right now. For now, he had to focus on making him happy. Sure enough, he will be able to find true love. He wondered if that would be Amy. It was a good thing that she was the only one who helped the both of them. Life wasn't gonna be easy as Sonic thought it would be, but he just had to be ready for some mild changes.

"That Ames is a real life-saver, isn't she?" Sonic asked Tails with a smile.

"Yeah, she is", Tails smiled back. "Without her, I would still be cutting myself right now."

"Uh-huh", Sonic nodded with a small sweatdrop. "Still, if she didn't give me those advices, then I would still be at Sal's right now, living with more torture than ever…"

"She taught us a huge lesson, huh?" Tails looked up at the ceiling. "After she told all of that, I became happy again."

"Yeah", Sonic looked up at the sky. "I am never gonna forget this lesson."

"Me too", Tails spoke.

Both of them were happy now. Even though they've been through so much, they were able to get back on their feet. It was all thanks to Amy. Their life-saver, their companion, their loyal friend. And she was a great friend to them too. As Sonic looked up at the clear blue sky, he imagined Amy winking at him. He smiled happily.

"_Thanks Amy",_ he thought to himself. _"You're a great friend…"_

To Be Continued…


	39. Chapter 39:Cream and the Principal

Ch.39: Cream and the Principal

On the next Monday afternoon, Cream was taking a test in her algebra class. Most of the students began to think to themselves while a few others decided to take a nap. Charmy was in the same class with Cream, although he sat in the back since he was so loud during class. The peach rabbit was at the front just finishing her test. Unlike her classmates, she studied very hard for this test. After she got done, she handed it to her teacher, Mrs. Lloyd, and sat back down quietly. Most of the students starred at her in awe, including Charmy.

"_Man, how does she do that?"_ the bumble bee thought passionately. _"Every test we take, she always gets it done. That's so amazing…"_

During the rest of the time left of class, the classroom door suddenly opened. Mrs. Lloyd got out of her seat and walked to it. All of the students lost their attention from their tests as they watched her. Then the teacher and an unknown voice started talking to each other. The students didn't really understand what they were saying, because they were whispering to each other. After the small talk, the teacher turned to Cream.

"Cream, you're needed at the principal's office."

"What?" Cream widened her eyes in fear.

"Ooohhhh…." some of the students began to tease her but she clearly ignored them.

"Ok", Cream got out of her seat and walked out of the room.

"_Oh, man",_ Charmy said in thought nervously. _"I got a bad feeling about this…"_

Latterly, Cream walked into the door to the principal's office, which was downstairs near the front door. Sitting at his desk, was a 50 year old man that was a little bit over weighted, wore a dark blue suit with a red tie on it, and had a big gray mustache on his face. At first, Cream wanted to start a friendly conversation with him, but she figured that there's no time for that. She nervously walked to a chair in front of Principal Williams, sat down, and looked at him with nervousness and fear.

"Hi, Cream, how are you?" Mr. Williams smiled.

"Ok", Cream surprisingly lied to him.

"Before you ask, no, you're not in trouble", the middle aged human said.

"Oh, good", Cream sighed hardly in relief. "Then, what brings me here?"

"Well, I need to ask you a few questions", said the principal.

"Um…ok?" Cream blinked in confusion.

"Tell me…Do you live with the one called Detective Rose?" the principal asked his first question.

"…Yes", Cream gulped and shivered a little.

"Is she working on a case right now?"

"Yes…"

"Is she working on the case about the one who's killing innocent young women?"

"Of course, yes."

"Has she found any clues?"

"Somewhat yes."

"Did you ever go out on a search for the killer at night with her?"

"A couple of times. That's why I've been so tired."

"Do you feel safe here?"

At that moment, Cream was silent. Sure the school looked normal, but she couldn't tell what might happen to anyone. She knows that a few female students from her own school were killed. She did have bad feelings about coming to school a few times, but now, everything seemed normal. Even so, she had to keep her guard up. Especially around men.

"Sometimes", Cream answered the question.

"One last question. Did you know McKenzie Rochester?" Principal Williams asked.

"Yes, why?" Cream widened her eyes.

"Well…" Mr. Williams searched through his drawers. "I have her will", he pulled out a clean sheet of paper. "It's for you."

"For me?" Cream took the paper politely.

She scanned the note carefully. She covered her mouth so she wouldn't let out a gasp. In sort of perfect cursive handwriting, the will read:

_Hey, Cream! Wat's up? Well, I dunno why I'm writin' this will, I can't say 4 sure_. _Wat I'm sayin' iz dat, in life, anything can happen. So jus' B careful who U hang around wit. U wuz da bestest friend dat I've ever had. Sure I had some other friends, but dey were all fake. U was honest, trustworthy, & fun 2 hang out wit. Anyway, I know that UR workin' on dat case wit Amy right now, but please B careful. I'm scared dat I might lose a friend. Dat guy iz very dangerous, from wat I heard on da newz. But anyway, anything can happen. These might B my last words 4 U, because I can sometimes C my own death. In my dreams, in tha daylight, I can somehow C my own future. But I know U'll live. And if I become tha next vitctim of dat guy, avenge me. Take dat asshole down._

_UR BFF,_

_McKenzie_

_P.S., don't 4get about me, OK:)_

The rabbit couldn't believe her eyes. She never thought that her best friend would say those words. It was truly surprising anyhow. As for the principal, he looked into Cream's eyes in shock. For the first time, Cream felt a little angry. Now, she wanted to avenge her dear friend from that bastard. However, she didn't want to rush into some ridiculous ideas just to get herself killed. Suddenly, the principal cleared his throat. Cream looked at him abnormally.

"You may go back to class now", he greeted her to the door.

"Thank you", Cream got out of the chair and left the room. _"I've got to tell Amy about this",_ she thought to herself as she was on her way back upstairs.

To Be Continued…


	40. Chapter 40:Grim gets Serious!

Ch.40: Grim gets Serious!

The night was silent as Grim and Stacey walked in their unknown hideout in the woods. They walked up the stairs and reached up to the empty bedroom. Obviously, they were ready to get it on again.

"Oh, Grim, you so naughty", Stacey giggled as she lay back on the bed.

"Look who's talking", Grim chuckled as he got on top of her.

They began to kiss each other passionately. The woman moaned as Grim pressed his body onto her's gently. Then the man in black laid himself to the side. After that, Stacey pulled his face and continued to kiss him. Grim wrapped his arms around his lover and deepened his kiss.

"Oh, baby", Grim whispered with lust.

"Yeah, Michael?" Stacey slipped out another man's name.

"What?" Grim pushed Stacey off of him roughly. "What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything", the brunette tried to lie to him, but he didn't fall for it.

"I know you didn't just say another man's name", Grim got off the bed and crossed his arms.

"Hey, man, I can explain-," Stacey sat up slowly.

"So you like him more because he gave you a great fuck?" Grim asked in a serious tone.

Before his woman could've reply to him, he stomped out of the room. She called out for him, but he clearly ignored her. She shrugged as she shook her head. That was a huge mistake. Although, most men take things too seriously when they think that their women are cheating on them. So Stacey had to apologize to him before he goes out of control. She got up from the bed and walked out of the room.

"Grim?" she called out for him but there was no answer.

Suddenly, all of the lights went off. Stacey gasped as she looked around. The whole hallway was dark except a few lightning flashes coming from the bedroom window. Frightenedly, she started walking forward. She would rather be in the dark with him instead all by herself. Through the whole hallway was emptiness and silence. Grim was nowhere to be found. Did he take off without saying goodbye? The woman didn't want to think about it much, but she was worried about him. Who knows, she must've broke his heart. As she was about to walk to the stairs, she was suddenly slammed against the wall. She was about to scream, but then her hand was covered by someone's hand.

"Yeah, you like that, don't cha?" Grim asked sarcastically. "You only love me because of my money, nothing else. So why should I take pity on you?"

"Dude", Stacey gasped for air. "We can work this out."

"Yeah, right", Grim scoffed.

Since Stacey couldn't see him, Grim pulled out a trench knife out of his pocket. All of the sudden, he gave her a long loveable kiss. Somehow, it made Stacey feel that he still loved her. However, that was his evil plan. As he released his lips, he stuck the knife in the woman's gut. She coughed out some blood as she slid down to the floor. With her dead, Grim back handed her to the side boldly. Suddenly, he began to pant in anger. He clenched his fists as another stroke of lightning flashed the hallway.

"More", he laughed manically. "I need to kill more."

(BGM plays 'Smooth Criminal' by Alien Ant Farm)

With his ex dead, Grim left the house. An hour later, the clock tower stroke midnight. In the empty streets of Station Square, Grim walked his way to find some new victims. First, he laid eyes on a couple of teenagers smoking cigarettes. Both of them had short golden hair, possibly they could be twins. One of them wore a short black dress and heels as the other one wore a slutty red dress and knee-high boots. The vicious psycho walked to them with his hands in his pockets. The two blondes starred at him oddly as they took small puffs of their cigarettes. Dumbly, the blonde in the black dress offered him a cigarette for no reason. Surprisingly, Grim took it, but then threw it away. Before the blonde in black could've asked why, he pulled her close and kissed her roughly. The other blonde watched in disgust. As the blonde in black struggled, Grim pulled out his trench knife and stuck it into her spine. The other blonde in red screamed in fear as she watched her twin sister collapsed onto the ground. She tried to run away, but then, she was killed too.

_(Verse 1):_

_As he came into the window  
Was a sound of a crescendo  
He came into her apartment  
He left the bloodstains on the carpet  
She was sitting at the table  
He could see she was unable  
So she ran into the bedroom  
She was struck down  
It was her doom_

Successfully, Grim walked away from the dead blondes. Second, he walked into an alley where a Korean woman in her red pajamas was putting some trash in the dumpster. She didn't notice that he was watching her. Before she could've turned around, Grim slaughtered her in the chest from behind. Then Grim threw her in the dumpster and closed the lid. No one noticed, no one was around. Since Grim was still hungry for more, he left the alley.

_(Chorus):_

_Annie, are you OK  
Are you OK  
Are you OK, Annie  
Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie  
Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
You OK, Annie  
Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie_

Thirdly, Grim went to the park. There, he saw three more ladies. All of them were hedgehogs, except one was red, the other was green, and the other was purple. They all were in their pajamas as they started sharing each other some weed (marijuana). Slowly, Grim walked to the group. The three hedgehogs looked at him like he was some kind of retard. Before they asked who he was, he swung his long trench knife at their necks and they collapsed to the ground. However, Grim decided to take a break for the night.

_Annie, are you OK  
Will you tell us that you're OK  
There's a sign at the window  
That he struck you  
A crescendo, Annie  
He came into your apartment  
He left the bloodstains on the carpet  
Then you ran into the bedroom  
You were struck down  
It was your doom_

A few hours later, Amy, the Chaotix, and the police checked out the dead victims at every single spot. Amy almost fainted, but Espio shook her to stay calm. Charmy and Mighty puked in their brown paper bags because it was very disgusting to see all of that blood. As for Vector and Espio, they shook their heads at the poor women. While they were investigating at the park, Grim watched them further away from them. He walked away so he wouldn't get caught.

_(Chorus repeated):_

_Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie  
Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie  
Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie  
You've been hit by  
You've been struck by  
A smooth criminal_

The next night, Grim walked down the same road as last night. This time, his weapon was a terrifying carving knife. For his fourth place to find some targets, he snuck into a huge club with lots of teenagers and college students dancing to the music (well, they were dancing to the exact song that's playing right now). The killer walked in from the back door and found a lot of nice-looking women. Luckily, he found one that wasn't dancing. She was sitting near the backdoor all by herself. She was a light brown fox with beautiful green eyes that matched her short dress and heels. Grim tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. She turned to him as he waved his finger to come with him. Curiously, she followed him to the outside of the club. Moments later, they began to make out. With the female fox distracted, the criminal stuck the large knife into her stomach. After that, he pulled the knife out, back handed the dead girl, and then left the area.

_(Verse 2):_

_So they came into the outway  
It was Sunday  
What a black day  
I could made a salutation  
Sounding heartbeats  
Intimidations _

(Chorus): 

_Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie  
Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie  
Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie  
Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie_

Soon afterwards, someone called and reported about the dead fox. As usual, Amy, the Chaotix, and the police checked out the area. Amy took a few pictures of the dead fox. Before long, she began to feel dizzy. She fainted, but Espio caught her in time before she could've hit the ground. Mighty and Vector panicked as they fanned her with their hands. Charmy slapped his forehead after seeing his friend unconscious. Grim watched the group across the club at an empty corner. He crossed his arms and walked backwards into the darkness.

_Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie  
You've been hit by  
You've been struck by  
A smooth criminal_

As another night came by, so did the killer maniac. Again, it was midnight. He decided to go to a special place for him to enjoy playing 'Catch and Kill' with his palette knife. Apparently, he went to a stripper's club near the outer section of Station Square. As some of them women performed their stunts on the poles, Grim spotted a perfect target. It was a 22 year old woman with long black hair that wore a red bikini top and a very short pink skirt. As she turned to him, Grim pulled out a $100 dollar bill. The brunette smiled as she walked to him. He took her to the bathroom where no one could find them. As they were making out passionately, the criminal stuck his palette knife into her stomach hardly and roughly. After the girl died, Grim walked out of the bathroom and left the club.

_Annie, are you OK  
Will you tell us that you're OK  
There's a sign at the window  
That he struck you  
A crescendo, Annie  
He came into your apartment  
He left the bloodstains on the carpet  
Then you ran into the bedroom  
You were struck down  
It was your doom_

Finally, Grim went back into Station Square. Further ahead of him, he saw a sort of tall orange hedgehog. She wore a long red coat as she hugged herself for warmth. Carefully, Grim walked up to the girl. Before she could've turned around, he struck his knife into her spine hardly. He then pulled out the knife and watched her fall to the ground.

_Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie  
Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie  
Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie  
Annie, are you OK  
You OK  
Are you OK, Annie_

Later that night, Amy and the Chaotix were on duty again. As Amy watched the second victim getting on a stretcher covered up by a long white blanket, she bit her right thumb softly. Yet again, she began to feel scared. Three nights have passed by and a lot of girls got killed! Somehow, Amy felt like she had to be extremely carefully. Good thing Cream stayed home from the pass few times when Amy left. Things were starting to get out of hand. When the rain began to pour down, the lightning flashed the sky.

Little did everyone know, Grim was watching all of them on top of a 2 story tall grocery store. He had his arms crossed and began to observe those in the crowded street. First he glanced at the cops, then the ambulance, and then at the dead orange hedgehog that he killed getting in the back of ambulance truck. Suddenly, his eyes caught something. He saw Amy. The pink hedgehog shivered in fear as she hugged herself. Something about her made a tingle inside Grim. He saw the Chaotix too, but he focused more on Amy. He wanted her, he wanted her for himself. It looked like he wanted to kidnap her. Because there were a lot of folks to witness him, he didn't. Thus, the criminal turned around and looked for a way out of the crowded street, without getting caught.

To Be Continued…


	41. Chapter 41:Scared and Loved

Ch.41: Scared and Loved

On a late Friday afternoon, Cream walked into the hotel room. She saw Amy sitting at the kitchen table with her head resting on it. Apparently, she was tired. Through the whole week, she had to get up so late at night to investigate some crime scenes. Poor Amy, it seemed that she hasn't had a break yet. The peach rabbit walked to Amy and shook her slightly.

"Whoa!" Amy gasped as she sat up in fear and Cream shirked as she dropped her textbooks.

Both of them blinked twice. Amy yawned as she rubbed her eyes and then looked at Cream. Her friend gave her a sarcastic 'thanks a lot' look and began to pick up her books.

"My bad", Amy rubbed the back of her head. "I just though that you were…"

"What?" Cream looked up after she had her textbooks together.

"Nothing", Amy yawned. "Man, this case is 'really' getting out of hand."

"I see", Cream nodded. "You've been really tired. Hard to believe that this killing spree has been going on all week."

"Well, I wish that he wouldn't do that so damn late", Amy growled.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot", the rabbit reached into her skirt pocket. "On Monday, I got McKenzie's will." She pulled out a piece of paper and gave it to Amy.

"How come you didn't give it to me before?" the pink hedgehog asked.

"I kept forgetting, because I've been getting so much homework", the rabbit replied.

Amy shrugged her shoulders as she opened the note. After she read the will, her eyes widened in shock. She was surprised, just like how Cream was. Suddenly, she began to have questions in her mind.

"What do you think she's trying to say?" Amy asked Cream.

"I guess she predicted her own death", Cream replied. "Plus, she already knew about that guy and that we were looking for him."

"Hmm…" Amy began to ponder for the moment. "She was found dead at an alley near the library. What do you think happened?"

"Maybe she forgot something there", Cream guessed. "Or, she forgot to return a book."

"I can't believe that she would go off so late that night", Amy shook her head. "I guess she didn't know much about the criminal. Or she probably didn't watch the news much."

"She said that in life, anything can happen", Cream remembered those words.

"Hmm", Amy nodded and gave the will back to her.

That night, a piece of paper slid under the door. Cream was the first notice, so she went over to the door and picked it up. She wondered where it came from and who the note was from. Amy was in the kitchen area, studying the pictures that she took when she visited the crime scenes. Before she could've studied them again, Cream tapped on her shoulder. The pink hedgehog looked at her wondering what was wrong.

"What's up?"

"I found a note", Cream showed Amy the unknown letter.

"Read it", Amy shrugged her shoulders.

Slightly, Cream unfolded the note. She scanned it carefully. Seconds after she read the note, she gave Amy a jealous look. The pink hedgehog blinked twice. Then Cream gave her the note and she read it. Amy couldn't believe her eyes. The note was from her beloved, Shadow! She was so happy, but Cream looked away with jealousy.

"So. What did it say?" Cream asked, with a little bit of kindness.

"It says that Shadow wants me to meet him outside the hotel in a few", Amy gout up happily and went to the bathroom for a change.

"Lucky, lucky, lucky", Cream shook her head as she folded her arms.

A short time later, Amy came back out. She didn't really know where Shadow was going to take her, so she decided not to wear a dress. All she had on was an orange tanktop with gold glitter on it, long brand new Levi's jeans, and dark blue tennis shoes. This time, she put her into two cute pigtails that reached down to her shoulders. Cream was sitting on the couch watching a classic scary vampire movie on the TV. She took a look at Amy's outfit, gave her a thumb's up, and continued watching the screen.

"See ya", Amy grabbed her house key and walked out.

"Later", Cream waved.

Shortly afterwards, Amy reached down to the front door. She walked out the twin doors and saw Shadow waiting for her on the hood of his fabulous sportscar. He had on a black leather jacket that was zipped up, long black jeans, and red and black sneakers. He whistled to himself as he looked at his watch. Hopefully, she didn't take that long to get dressed. She walked to him as she called out his name. The black hedgehog turned to her with a smile on his face.

"Hey."

"Um…hi", Amy waved nervously as she was up close to him. "What brings you here?"

"The night is young", Shadow looked up at night sky and the bright stars. "I thought that we could spend some time together right now."

"Sure, ok", Amy rubbed her left arm slowly.

"Is everything alright?" Shadow turned to her curiously.

"Well…It's the case", Amy shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, the murders are starting to get worse."

"Oh, yeah", Shadow blinked. "I've been hearing a lot about that guy. He seems to be a real psycho."

"Not only that…But I can't shake this feeling off of me."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like…he's watching me. At first, he strikes, then stops for a couple of days, and then strikes back again. This is weird. I mean, he just had a few days this week of a killing spree."

"Whoa", Shadow widened his eyes in shock.

"I'm….I'm scared. Just scared that he might come after me", Amy spoke softly and frightenedly as her body began to shiver.

Shadow looked at her in surprise. He has never seen her like that before. Actually, he thought that she was a brave woman that didn't care what she sees. But isn't she a detective? True, Shadow as confused a little. But still, he didn't want to see her like that. In fact, he was going to take her somewhere as a wonderful date, and he didn't want to cancel it so soon. He got off the hood of his car and walked to his girlfriend.

"Come here", Shadow whispered passionately as he pulled Amy into his arms gently.

As Amy looked up, Shadow began to kiss her on the lips. Both of them closed their eyes as they hugged each other. Suddenly, Amy's fear disappeared. Now she was feeling love and protection. Now she didn't have to worry about the case. She was about to spend some time with the man of her dreams. Shadow slowly released his lips and looked into her turquoise green eyes.

"You don't have to be afraid anymore, Amy", he spoke kindly.

"What do ya mean?" Amy asked in awe.

"We all get scared sometimes", Shadow replied as he moved the bangs from her forehead and kissed it. "But you have to be brave."

"Ah…" Amy clearly understood him.

"Just remember this…Whenever you feel scared, or lonely, just think about me, ok?" Shadow said as he held her hands in a wedding position.

"Yeah", Amy smiled.

"Even when you feel lost, just don't forget that I got love for you", Shadow smiled back. "No matter what."

"Love…" Amy spoke again in awe.

"With love…it'll keep you strong. It'll keep you smiling, and it'll give you happiness", Shadow said in a poetic tone.

At that moment, Amy felt happy again. She didn't really care about the criminal anymore. All she had to do was to do her work and to be careful. Not only that, but she also had to keep herself together. Thanks to Shadow, her fear became courage. Her heart was filled with joy. She gave him a longer kiss as his eyes widened with a bright red blush on his cheeks. After a minute, the two released their lips and smiled at each other.

"So where are we going?" Amy asked nicely.

"It's a surprise", Shadow winked.

"You love surprises, don't cha?" Amy winked back.

"Trust me", Shadow said and gave her a kiss on the lips. "You'll love it."

"Ok", Amy nodded.

The two hedgehogs hopped in the red sportscar. After they buckled up, Shadow gave Amy a great big kiss on her left cheek. She giggled as she looked away with a red blush on her face. Shadow turned on the ignition and they left the hotel.

To Be Continued…


	42. Chapter 42:Love Under the Moonlight

Ch.42: Love under the Moonlight

Later on, Shadow's car pulled up at the Emerald Beach. Amy blinked twice as she looked around. What were they doing there in the first place? They didn't bring their swimming suits, so what was the point of coming? Sure the breeze from the wind soothed Amy's skin, but she still wasn't sure of what was going on. As for Shadow, he was excited about their date. He watched the ocean waves move slowly back and forth.

"Um, what are we doing here?" Amy asked.

"To have some fun", Shadow replied as he wrapped an arm around her neck.

"But at this late? And when we don't have our swimming suits?" Amy asked again with a sweatdrop.

"Hey, it's a free country", Shadow began to unzip his jacket. "Besides, there's no limit to this place, right?" he removed his jacket and he was seen in a white sleeveless shirt.

"Um, I guess so…" Amy blushed because of his nice though normal-like muscular arms.

"Then let's go!" Shadow exclaimed as he hopped out of his car and dashed to the sandy beach.

Amy watched as the wind blew her pigtails to the side. The black hedgehog kicked off his shoes and looked back at her. He waved her to come with him. With nothing else to do, Amy got out of the car to follow Shadow.

Meanwhile, Charmy was struggling on his algebra homework. He had to do a very long worksheet assignment about slopes, point slopes, and slope intercepts. If he paid attention in class, he would've been halfway done! But he didn't, considering that he hasn't started on the first problem. All of the equations, numbers, and graphs-all of that began to make Charmy a little dizzy. He sighed, grabbed his homework and flew downstairs.

In the kitchen, Lucia was feeding Ana some baby food. She was able to stick around the Chaotix's place for a while until they could find Grim. At times, she spoke some English. But on the other hand, she mostly spoke Spanish. She told them she can speak which ever if she felt like it. However, Mighty, Vector, and Charmy began to learn some of the Latin language themselves. So they got used to it.

"Hey, Lucia?" Charmy came into the kitchen.

"¿Sí (Yes)?" Lucia turned to him after she gave Ana one last spoon full of pudding.

"Can you help me with my algebra homework?" Charmy handed the Latin female his homework.

"Hm…" Lucia scanned the paper carefully.

Suddenly, her eyes widened. Her head began to feel dizzy. She looked at the directions of how to do the work, but the numbers and equations made her feel queasy. Before she could've lost her mind, Charmy tapped her on the shoulder. She gasped as she looked back at him. She chuckled nervously as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Yo no sé (I don't know)", Lucia said. "Lo siento (I'm sorry)."

"Gracias (Thanks)", Charmy replied with sarcasim as took his homework he left.

Next, Charmy went to the basement. Mighty was watching the laundry machine washing some dirty clothes through the circular window at the bottom. He had to wait, just to make sure that the machine wouldn't lose control. However, he began to feel tired. He stood up from his knees and yawned as he stretched out his arms.

"Hey, Mighty", Charmy came up to him.

"Hey, what's up?" Mighty looked back.

"Do you think that you can help me with my homework?" Charmy handed him his homework.

"Lemme see", the armadillo took a look at the worksheet but then sweatdropped. "Sorry, I'm not good at this kind of stuff."

"Great", Charmy shrugged as he took his homework back and buzzed upstairs.

All of the sudden, the laundry machine began to tip from side to side rapidly. Mighty gasped as he turned around. Some water and soap began to form through the top door of the machine and they dropped to the ground. With that, the spinner started circling the clothes faster and faster as the machine made some noises. Lots of bubbles flew out of the machine as Mighty shrieked like a girl.

"Oh, crap, not again!" he pressed some random buttons in panic.

Following that, Charmy went outside in front of the agency apartment. He saw Vector, who was fixing up the car. The green crocodile just finished taking a tire out from the wheel and sat down in exhaustion. He sighed as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead. Apparently, he has been working on his old rusty car for about a while.

"Hey, Vector", Charmy zoomed to him.

"Hola (Hello)", Vector turned around. "Whatcha need?"

"Help", Charmy quickly gave Vector his homework assignment.

Attentively, Vector scanned the paper. Suddenly, his eyes began to swirl in different sections because of all of the equations. Charmy snapped his fingers and Vector returned to Earth. He blinked twice then hand the paper back to the bumble bee.

"Well?" Charmy asked impatiently.

"Can't do it", Vector responded as he got back to work on his car.

"Are you serious?" Charmy asked with a sweatdrop. He shrugged again as he went back inside.

Upstairs in the office, Espio was reading the newspaper. He studied a page that was about the crazed killing spree that went on through this week. He sat down the newspaper and started reading the page again. Just then, he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in", Espio called out, still reading the paper.

"Espio!" Charmy exclaimed as he barged in. "I need some help!" he zipped up to the small wooden desk.

"You could've said 'please'", Espio said sarcastically as he looked at the homework assignment. "Hmm…"

Charmy began to have a bad feeling about it. This was the last person he had asked to help him with his homework. He bit his fingers anxiously and impatiently, because he wanted to know if Espio could help or not. Hopefully, he could, because he seems to be the smartest one on the team. After an awkward moment of silence, Espio gave Charmy back his homework. The bumble bee blinked twice confusingly.

"Can't help ya out, kid", the chameleon spoke as he looked down at the newspaper again.

"**OH, MY GOD, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!"** Charmy exclaimed angrily at the ceiling. "Fine, I'll just look it up on the internet!" he shrugged as he buzzed out of the room furiously.

"Uh-huh", Espio ignored him.

Continuing his reading, he pulled out a small box of cigarettes and took a piece out. He lit it up and placed it between his lips. Suddenly, something caught his eyes. He looked down at a photo shot right on the next page that continued talking about the mysterious murder cases. He pulled out a magnifying glass and scanned it. On the picture, it showed Grim, all dressed in black, and was leaving a stripper's club. The witness who took the shot was someone named 'Jack Nickerson'. Espio took a puff of his cigarette as his eyes narrowed with suspicions.

Back with Amy, she and Shadow were walking together as they held their hands again. Through the whole time, they talked, played tag, and even played in the water. However, it was getting late. Amy checked her watch and it read 11:45 p.m. The two hedgehogs were barefooted, but were lucky that there weren't any crabs to pinch their toes off. A few seagulls flew into the night sky as the wind whirled the ocean waves to the side. Also, the full moon brightened with a few sections of stars.

"Wow", Shadow spoke. "This is really beautiful."

"Yeah, except the fact that I have to blow dry my hair", Amy squeezed some water out of her pigtails.

"My bad", Shadow giggled as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I was too busy having so much fun with you."

"Really?" Amy turned to him in awe.

"Of course", Shadow replied with a smile. "I love spending time with you. Even though I work a lot, that doesn't mean I can't use my spare time to see you."

Amy blushed as she felt shock. She had no idea that Shadow liked her that much. Then again, she did develop a crush on him when they first met. Even so, she was glad that he liked her back. It was true that they don't see each other a lot because of their jobs, but that's how it is. Sure enough, it was a good thing that they had some spare time on the weekend to hang out with each other.

Suddenly, Shadow looked up at the sky and he stopped. Amy had a clueless look on her face as she looked up also. Up in the sky, a bright shooting star passed by and the ocean reflected it. The pink hedgehog gasped with joy. She has never seen a shooting star in her own life. Sometimes, she believed that all of the stories of shooting stars were just plain ancient myths. But now, she now knew that it was for real. Shadow smiled as he turned to her.

"Make a wish", he spoke.

"How can I make a wish when I already have everything right now?" Amy said with joy.

"Everything?" Shadow asked in awe.

"I have friends, I have a cool job, and I have you", Amy turned to him.

"Hm", Shadow smiled back. "And I have you."

At that moment, he turned her body to his and placed his lips on her's. Now that was an awesome romantic moment. Amy started to enjoy it. She hopped onto Shadow's chest as he held her up in the air and continued their kiss. They moaned as they deepened their lips as far as they could. Just as their romantic scene continued, a sudden waved splashed the two hedgehogs and knocked them to the ground. And then the dramatic music went off instantly. As the water pulled itself back to the sea, Amy and Shadow opened their eyes and found themselves on the wet sandy ground next to each other. The pink hedgehog sat up as she squeezed some more water out of her hair as Shadow brushed some seaweed off of his face. He then sat up and shook his head hardly. In result, some of the water sprinkled on Amy by accident. Since she didn't want to complain about it, she shook lots of water out of her hair to get back at Shadow.

"Hey", the black hedgehog laughed a little as he blocked his eyes.

"Well, you started it", Amy winked at him.

Shadow removed his hands and looked at Amy. A smile came upon his face as he looked into her eyes. She smiled too. But then, Shadow looked at the sky and starred at the moon. Amy decided to look at the moon too. It was full, bright, but most of all, beautiful. Also, the ocean's water reflected the moonlight from the giant rock. As Amy continued to stare, Shadow tip-toed his fingers to her left hand. He placed his right palm gently and Amy blushed. She looked at her hand, then at Shadow. The black hedgehog smiled with a cute wink. She winked back and then took his hand. They held each other's hand and turned back to the moon. Then Amy rested her head on Shadow's right shoulder happily. He smiled as he kissed her forehead. Through the rest of the hour, they starred at the moonlight with love, joy, and togetherness…

(Amy's P.O.V.)

_Man, that scene was good. But I wished that the stupid water didn't ruin the whole thing. Oh, well, anything can happen. We starred at the moon filled with beauty. Somehow, I began to feel trust around Shadow. He loved me, he took me to some places, and he was the only one that understood my feelings. I will never forget that moment…_

To Be Continued…


	43. Chapter 43:Espio's Suspicions

Ch.43: Espio's Suspicions

Early the next day, Espio snored in the office at his desk. He still had his head on the newspaper, considering that he couldn't stop reading it all night. So he must've dozed off sometime ago. As the door opened slowly, Vector and Mighty tip-toed in quietly as they snickered. Successfully, they reached up to Espio's desk. Lucia and Charmy giggled as they watched. Then Vector shushed them. Anxiously, Might reached to tap on Espio's shoulder. Closer and closer, he was reaching to the chameleon's right shoulder. But before that could've happened…

"KIYA!" Espio suddenly woke up and tackled Mighty down to the floor.

"Holy crap, it's only me!" Mighty yelled, who was about to freak out.

"Huh?" Espio opened his sleepy eyes. "Sorry", he got off of Mighty and brushed the dust off of his clothes. "What time is it?"

"It's 9:55 a.m., my friend", Vector looked at his watch.

"Are you ok?" Lucia asked as she walked to Espio.

"Yeah, I am", the chameleon rubbed his eyes. "Must've dozed off last night while I was reading the newspaper."

"What did it say?"

"Here", Espio ran back to the desk, took the paper, and handed it to Lucia.

Everyone got quiet as Lucia scanned the two pages that Espio read last night. A sudden gasp came out of her mouth. She saw a picture of Grim. She had a feeling that he was still on the loose. Then again, she hasn't left the house at all after she left the hospital. Now, she was worried. What if he comes back to kill her and Ana? After she had that question in thought, she gulped.

"It's ok", Espio said calmly. "Besides, I gotta take this to Amy", he took the paper away from Lucia politely.

"You wanna go to Emerald Hotel?" Vector asked as he held up his car keys.

"Yeah", Espio nodded. "Mighty, watch Lucia, Ana, and Charmy for us."

"Ok", the armadillo saluted.

"Hey, wait a minute!" the bumble bee pouted impatiently. "Why can't I go!?"

"Because you're Mighty's back up", Espio explained. "Don't worry, I'll tell Amy that you said hi."

"Hmph", Charmy muffled as he crossed his arms and looked away.

"We'll be back later, ok?" Vector waved.

"Come back safely", Lucia nodded.

"We will", Espio folded the newspaper into a sort of small square. "Let's go", he dashed out of the room.

"Right behind ya!" Vector followed excitedly.

Inside Amy's hotel room, Cream woke up. She yawned as she sat up from the couch. Through the whole night, she has been alone watching TV and doing her homework. But she hasn't heard from Amy since last night. She began to get a little worried. Where did Amy and Shadow go after their date? Before she could've asked around, she decided to check inside of Amy's 'secret room' that only Amy was allowed in. Slowly, she opened the door. At that moment, she gasped. She actually saw Shadow and Amy in bed together! However, they were still in their clothes and shoes on, so they probably didn't 'do it' last night. Shadow had his arms around Amy's waist as she had her head on his chest. Due to the cuteness, Cream began to giggle. After that, she started laughing hardly. By the sound of her laughter, the two hedgehogs awaken. They rubbed their eyes and then looked at the laughing rabbit.

"Had a good time last night?" Cream winked slyly.

"Oh, my god!" Shadow gasped embarrassingly and accidentally fell off of the bed roughly. "Oww", he groaned in pain.

"Um, Cream, hey", Amy swift her eyes side to side, with a VERY red blush on her face. "You didn't think that we…you know…right?"

"Right, right", Cream winked again, crossing her arms.

"So um…Want some breakfast?" Amy asked just to change the subject.

"Ok", Cream nodded with joy. "Besides, the hotel always gives us free breakfast on the weekends anyway."

"Cool", Amy nodded. "You wanna come, Shad?" she looked at the black hedgehog, who was rubbing his back in pain.

"Yeah, yeah, ok", Shadow hissed a little, since he kind of fell on his back too hardly. "Oww…"

Minutes later, Espio and Vector reached up to the front of Emerald Hotel. The chameleon got out of the car and rushed inside. Since Vector didn't feel like getting up, he decides to turn on the radio so he could find something good to listen to. After Espio came inside, he looked around. He was about to go to the elevator until he noticed something. He saw Amy, Cream, and Shadow sitting at a table further away from everyone else eating some breakfast. Decidedly, he walks to the table quietly.

"I'm so sorry about you're friend", Shadow said to Cream after she told her sad story. "And about your mom."

"It's ok", Cream sighed and smiled a little. "At least they'll rest in peace."

"Yeah", Amy agreed and took a sip of her orange juice.

Suddenly, someone tap on her left shoulder. Amy looked back and saw Espio with his arms crossed. She knew what was going to happen. Yet again, he was going to ruin a sweet moment between her and Shadow. Before that could've happened Amy got out of her seat and turned to him.

"What's up?"

"Well, I thought that we would start focusing a little more", Espio said under his breath so Shadow wouldn't hear.

"Huh?" Amy blinked.

"Come here right quick", Espio took her hand and led her away form the table.

"I'll be back!" Amy called out for Shadow as she looked back.

"Ok…" Shadow blinked confusingly.

"That's Espio for ya", Cream giggled a little. "He's always guppy and gullible."

Seconds later, Espio led him and Amy to a buffet where Shadow and Cream could barely see them. Luckily, there wasn't a long line going on right now. Amy crossed her arms and tapped her foot, since she was getting impatient with Espio.

"Ok, what do you want?" she asked rudely.

"I got yesterday's paper", Espio unfolded it, ignoring her rudeness. "Look through pages 3 and 4." He handed Amy the wide and long newspaper.

Quickly, Amy scanned through page 3. She looked over at page 4 and saw a snapshot of Grim. She gasped in shock. Alas, there was a witness! Now they were getting into business. But however, did she have to leave Shadow and Cream alone so soon? She handed the paper back to Espio as he folded it back into a small square and tucked it back in his left pants pocket.

"Oh, my god", Amy said in awe.

"It said that the picture was taken by some guy named Jack Nickerson", Espio explained. "We might have to find out where he is and talk to him."

"You serious?" Amy asked.

"How about…tomorrow afternoon", Espio suggested.

"Um…we'll see", Amy crossed her arms.

"What?" Espio asked to see if Amy's ok.

"Don't chu wanna say goodbye to Cream first?" Amy scowled. "I mean, you barely have time to say hi to her."

"Alright, alright", the purple chameleon sighed.

Amy stomped back to the table as Espio followed by walking. Cream and Shadow were just finishing discussing about school. Before Cream continued, she stopped and looked at Amy and Espio. Shadow looked back to see that Amy was ok. The pink hedgehog nudged Espio so he could say goodbye to both of them.

"You doing ok, Cream?" Espio asked nicely.

"Yeah", Cream smiled. "Are you about to leave?"

"Yeah", Espio smiled a little. "But I'll talk to ya later, ok? Stay in school and stay away from drugs."

"Yes sir!" Cream saluted.

"Hmm", Shadow looked at his watch. "Oh, shoot, I gotta go", he quickly got out of his chair in a hurry.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked kindly.

"I forgot that I had to be at work today", Shadow explained. "It's the only way to get some bonus for my next paycheck."

"I understand", Amy smiled.

Just then, Shadow gave her a short cute kiss on her cheek. A red blush appeared on her cheeks as she smiled at him. Espio rolled his eyes; since he was 'still' thinking that she was wasting her time. After Shadow waved at Cream and she waved back, he turned to Espio. The chameleon looked at him oddly with a risen eyebrow.

"See you later", Shadow offered a hand.

"Yeah, whatever", Espio took it.

A small gasp came out of Espio's mouth. He began to feel something from Shadow. On the outside, he seemed like a nice guy, but on the inside…Something was different about him. He was surprised that Amy didn't see that. Behind Shadow's kind smile, he saw an evil smirk. Besides that, he saw some pure darkness circling around him imaginably. It looked like he was up to something. Espio began to have suspicions. Although, he did recall that look on Shadow's face when they were at the big football game when he explained that he chased Grim and found his gun. Suddenly, Espio felt a tight squeeze from Shadow's right palm. Before Shadow could've crabbed his hand tighter, Espio snatched his hand back to him. At that moment, Shadow walked away from everyone. Amy watched with worry. What was up with Shadow?

Espio took a good look at his left palm. He saw a blue bruise that reached up to his fingers. That wasn't a friendly handshake. Actually, that hurt like hell! Now Espio didn't like him more than ever. Thereafter, he began to wonder about Amy. Can he really believe that she was going to be ok with that guy? What if he turns around and does something horrible to her? For now, he had to stay focus on the investigation. On the hand, he had to set his thoughts straight. He hid his bruised hand in his pocket and cleared his throat. Amy turned her attention to him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing", Espio sort of lied. "I'll see you later", he walked away from her.

"Huh", Amy blinked twice. _"What's up with him?"_

Back with Vector, he was surfing through the radio so he could listen to some music. Nothing was on right now. He barely listened to a couple of his favorite songs, but soon every radio station went onto commercials. Except…for the country channel. He didn't want to listen to that kind of music, but he was getting really tired of commercials. Plus, he forgot to bring his CD's with him. Espio got in the passenger's seat as Vector turned to him. He took a look at his face. All he saw in Espio's eyes were suspicions, worried ness, and confusion, all together. Boringly, Vector tapped Espio on the shoulder. The chameleon woke up from his thoughts and turned to his comrade. Then he looked straight ahead.

"You alright?" Vector asked.

"…I have this feeling", Espio spoke softly. "However, I need to know if I'm thinking straight."

"So what do you wanna do?"

"I want you to take me somewhere. Just for a little while."

"Where at?" Vector turned on the ignition.

"…", Espio began to ponder for a moment. Then he snapped his fingers. He knew exactly where he wanted to go.

To be continued…


	44. Chapter 44:Words from Master Shin

Ch.44: Words from Master Shin

An hour later, Vector pulled his car up at a local dojo building. The sign read 'Shin's Dojo' in Japanese language. Vector began to remember the place. He remembered that Espio always took some training there on weekends until their detective cases became more serious and Espio suddenly focused more on them. As for Espio, he felt like he hasn't been there in a long time. From the looks of the place, it looked empty. It wasn't shut down, but they could see that the lights were on. Practices usually started at 4 in the afternoon, but what was the place doing open before that? Espio got out of the car and walked to the glass doors. Vector got out too, and remembered to lock the doors carefully.

"Hmm", Espio looked through the glass door. "I don't see anyone in there."

"Mind if I ask what we're doing here?" Vector said as he crossed his arms.

Ignoring him, Espio walked inside the dojo slowly. The crocodile sighed and decided to follow him. After the doors closed behind them, the lights suddenly went off. Both of them gasped and looked around. A second later, someone suddenly grabbed Espio and threw him across the room. Luckily, he was able to catch his fall. He jumped back up on his feet and got into his fighting position.

"Holy crap, it could be the killer!" Vector gasped.

Before Espio could've replied, the mysterious component grabbed his neck by behind and started choking him. Thanks to Espio's ninjutsu ability, he did a hand sign and replaced himself with a large block of wood. The attacker gasped and looked around. Within a blink of an eye, Espio struck back at the villain and pinned him down to the floor. They rolled around the floor twice and then Espio was pinned to the ground hardly. He growled as he struggled to get free.

"Hmm…" Vector looked around for a switch.

With the light from the sun, he found a light switch on his left. He flipped it and all of the lights came on. He turned to the two fighters then gasped. Espio opened his eyes. He saw a middle aged Japanese man that had a gray ponytail in the back, wearing a white karate outfit that looked at him oddly. Suddenly, they began to recognize each other. Both of them got up off the floor and looked at each other with surprise.

"Master?" Espio asked to see if it was really whom.

"Ah, Espio, it's been a long time", the middle aged man gasped with joy. "My apologies back there."

"No, its ok", Espio rolled his shoulders. "Besides, that was a good first attack there, old man."

"Ha", the middle aged man laughed a little. "You never seem to surprise me."

"Wait a minute", Vector walked up to the both of them. "Why did you attack him in the first place?"

"Hm, so you're loud mouthed friend has gained some weight, huh?" Espio's master joked.

"Excuse me!?" Vector's face blushed angrily.

"I'm kidding", the middle aged man chuckled. "Anyway, I have to be extremely careful now that this criminal is on the loose. You may never know that he could strike you on the back."

"But the killer only kills' women", Vector sweatdropped.

"Yes, that's why I have to be cautious", the middle aged man answered. "I have a wife and a daughter, so I have to protect them."

"I see…"

Out of nowhere, a teenage Japanese girl came downstairs in a hurry. She wore a black tanktop with a skull in the middle, long jeans with chains on them, and had her white socks on. She had long black hair, red lip-gloss, had mascara on her eye lashes, and a couple of skull jewelry on her wrists. After she took a look around the training area, she sighed. She had a feeling that her father was in trouble, so she rushed down to see what happened.

"You ok, father?" she asked nicely.

"Yes, Melina, I'm fine", the middle aged man arched his back slowly.

"Melina?" Espio clearly recognized her.

"Espio-sama!" the teenager ran to him and gave him a tight hug. "Konnchiwa (Hello)!"

"Oai-deki-te ureshii-desu (I'm glad to see you)", Espio hugged back with a smile.

"Ahem!" Vector crossed his arms.

"Oh, hi", Melina gave him a short vicious glare then looked away.

"Oh, that's very nice", Vector scoffed sarcastically.

"So what brings you here?" the middle aged man asked as Melina and Espio stopped hugging each other.

"Master Shin", Espio sighed. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Come", Shin led them to the upstairs kitchen.

The four walked up to the kitchen. Amazingly, it was spotless. The walls were sea green, the floor was pure white, and the furniture was light brown. A while later, Espio and Master Shin sat down at the table alone as Melina made some green tea. As for Vector he sat at an empty chair and fell asleep.

"So tell me", Shin spoke. "What is it that you want to tell me?"

"Well", Espio lift his head up. "It's about this case. You see, everytime we look for him, he disappears. And when we take a break, he just strikes back, like he's watching us."

"Hmm", Shin nodded. "You must watch your distance, pupil. An enemy can find his victim unless you think ahead."

"Not only that", Espio continued. "But there's this guy named Shadow. I don't like him. Matter of fact, I never did."

"Why?" Shin asked.

"I dunno it's just…there's something odd about him", Espio answered softly. "Something that I don't like about him."

"What is it?"

"At first, he seemed pretty ok. But when I met up with Amy at the Jets vs. Titans football game, he gave me this weird look in his eyes. Like, I told Amy that I chased the criminal, and then he quickly turned around and listened to my conversation."

"Anything else?"

"I dunno what it was but…" Espio got silent a little. "When I shook his hand…I felt something strange about him. It's like; I can feel some kind of pressure through his veins."

"Like what?"

"When I took a good look at him, I saw something different from him on the inside. Something filled with darkness, desire, and hatred. And that's how I got this", he showed his bruise on his left palm.

Quietly, Shin took a good look at Espio's bruise. It was bright, because it was starting to heal. He then placed his fingertip on the center of Espio's palm. He then circled it around slowly. Espio watched curiously. The teapot began to whistle loudly as Melina searched for an oven mitt. After a moment of silence, Shin released Espio's hand.

"What's wrong?" Espio asked curiously.

"That handshake…it's almost like he wanted to break your hand", Shin pondered. "I could feel some bones sore."

"I see", Espio wiggled his hand gently.

"Here you go", Melina sat down a tray of green tea on the table.

"Arigatou (Thanks)", Espio and Shin thanked her in union.

Melina walked away from them and left the kitchen. Before she was gone, she kicked Vector's left leg and took off. The green crocodile groaned angrily as he held his kneecap in pain. Espio ignored him and took a small light blue cup of hot green tea off the tray. He took a small sip of it and sat it back down on the table. Shin decided to wait until his tea cooled off.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"I kept having this feeling that he doesn't have a friendly side", Espio said. "What's worse is that he's Amy's boyfriend."

"Amy?" Shin blinked.

"Detective Rose."

"Oh…I'm surprised that she's taking her time getting to know a man."

"Yeah, and we're trying to 'solve' a mystery."

"Hm…"

"I just have a few questions that I wanted to ask you", Espio said. "Am I taking it too seriously? I mean, can I really let Amy hang out with him? And what was that thing I saw inside of Shadow?"

Shin began to ponder for a moment. The questions seemed difficult for him to answer, since he's not the type for a Q&A thing. However, Espio was his favorite student. So he had to take some time to help him. He has never seen his student act that way before, so it was definitely new to him. As for Espio, he took a deep breath to stay calm. Even though he's worried about Amy's safety, he had to be patient and to be able to think first. Finally, Shin stopped thinking.

"Don't let this 'Shadow' get you upset so easily", he answered. "But do keep an eye on him when you see him. As for Amy, keep her close. In meaning, don't let her put her guard down too easily for her to get into trouble. Not only that, but keep your friends close. And as for the last question…You saw a split personality. Everyone has that. But if it's that suspicious to you, then keep an eye on him when he's with Amy. Because if you really feel that she shouldn't be around him, then you must tell her. Otherwise, it might be too late."

Espio got silent. He looked at his green tea and saw his reflection. He then looked out the window which was next to him. Now he began to understand something. That Shadow seems to be a big mystery to him. But to Amy, she thinks of him as a pretty boy that she can't stop thinking about. So he knew that he had to keep a very close eye on her than before. If something bad happened to her, he wouldn't forgive himself. In order to prevent that from happening, he had to make sure that Amy's safe before the night comes. After his thinking moment, Espio got up from his chair and drank the rest of his tea.

"Doumo arigatou (Thanks a lot)", Espio said.

"Kochira koso (The pleasure is mine)", Shin got out of his seat.

Both of them bowed a little. Espio walked to Vector, told him to get up, and went downstairs. After saying goodbye to Melina, Espio went back to the car. Vector unlocked the front doors and they both got in. They buckled up and Vector turned on the ignition.

"So what did he say?"

"We better keep a close eye on Amy", Espio replied. "Cause, I have a feeling that she might get hurt. Can't let that happen."

"Hm", Vector switched the gear to drive and took off. "By the way, how come Shin and Melina don't like me?"

"Remember that time that you accidentally broke their family vase?" Espio asked to remind him. "That happened like a couple of years ago. Since then, they took no kindness to you."

"Oh, yeah!" Vector snapped his fingers and finally remembered. "Now I remember!"

Espio sighed as he rested his head to the side of the door. He began to get hungry. And so, he and Vector looked around to get something to eat.

To Be Continued.


	45. Chapter 45:Campsite Massacre

Ch.45: Campsite Massacre

On a typical Saturday night, four teenage girls were camping in the Mystic Ruins jungle. They all had on their jackets and jeans or skirts, and they've just finished finding some firewood. After that, they sat the blocks of wood down inside a circle of rocks and one of them threw a small match down. Then the flames rose up a little bit. The four girls sighed as they took a seat on some empty logs for themselves. One of them had short brown hair as the other brunette had long curly black hair. The other two were blondes, except one of them had her hair up to a bun on the back and the other blonde had her hair in a long ponytail.

"Ahh", the girl with short brown hair sighed. "This is a great camping sight, don't cha think?"

"I still wanna know why we couldn't do this at the park", the blonde with a ponytail said as she looked around at the huge dark trees.

"Because, so that way the cops won't bitch on us", the other blonde said as she grabbed a bottle of beer.

"So…." the girl with black curly hair said as she turned on the flashlight under her chin. "Who wants to tell a ghost story?" she asked in a spooky tone.

"Chelsea, you that you suck ass when it comes to telling stories", the blonde with a bun hair style scoffed.

"Well, at least you're good at sucking-," the brunette with short brown hair was about to say something inappropriate.

"Shut up, Hannah", Chelsea stopped her. "So, anyone got a good story to tell?"

"Why so soon?" the blonde with the long ponytail asked curiously.

"Well, we've been looking for this spot for about an hour…Took us another hour to find some firewood…And it took us about 30 minutes to look for the matches", Chelsea listed. "So why ask that dumb ass question, Jessie?"

"I was just asking, geez", Jessie sweatdropped.

"I think I got one", the other blonde raised her hand.

"Oh, is that so, Mary?" Chelsea smirked.

"Just gimme the damn flashlight and listen", the blonde with a bun in the back offered her hand.

"Catch", Chelsea threw her flashlight and Mary accidentally dropped it.

"Dumb ass", Hannah laughed.

"Shut up", Mary picked up the flashlight and had it under her chin. "Anyway…Once upon a time", she started sharing a story in a creepy old lady's voice. "There was a campsite, just like this. And there, were a few senior ladies, just like us."

"You're trying to make fun of us, aren't chu, Mary?" Chelsea crossed her arms.

"Shut up", Mary pouted. "Anyway", she continued in a raspy tone. "There were four girls. All of them were red heads. They're names were Katie, Michelle, Diana, and Lara. All of them were a camping trip, just like us. They sat, talked, and drank about 10 bottles of beer, like the alcoholics that they are."

"You're an alcoholic too, you know", Hannah pointed.

"Shut up", Mary pouted back and continued her story. "After they got drunk, they wandered away from the campsite to play hide and go seek. Katie was the first one it. When she got done counting to 100, she looked around, even though she was slurring and walking all funny. But then, she got lost. Her friends were nowhere to be found. Sooner or later, she reached up to an old house in the middle of the woods. She walked up to the front door…"

Jessie began to bit her fingers. She was terrified. She didn't like to hear creepy stories like that. Chelsea laid back on the log, since she figured that the story wouldn't be that scary anyway. As for Hannah, she sat her elbows on her knees and sat her chin on ther palms. She had a feeling that the story was going to be lame. Mary ignored them and continued the story, in a much darker voice.

"However, she didn't know that the home belonged to a legendary serial killer of the city. After he opened the front door, he grabbed her, and then killed her. Meanwhile, her friends were looking for her together. Turns out that they got lost with their drunken asses. Just then, they walked up to a large wooden house, which where Katie just got killed. Without any warning, they were attacked. It was the serial killer again. He used his chainsaw on all of the other three girls and slaughtered them into pieces. Then…he buried them in the backyard. And that's the end", Mary sighed after finishing the story.

Her three friends were silent. Even the story sounded gory, they didn't have any sense of fear. Except for Jessie, because she had her face covered as she shivered frightenedly. A smirk came up on Mary's face. She was about to scare the crap out of her and laugh about it. Hannah had fallen asleep because of the story sounded dumb as Chelsea started listening to some modern rock music on her MP3 player.

"BOO!" Mary shouted with tease.

"AAHH!!" Jessie screamed and it echoed.

"Goddamn, Jessie", Hannah yawned. "You didn't have to scream so damn loud."

"I'm sorry", Jessie apologized. "I'm going into the tent for a bit", she got up and crawled in a large pink tent that it looked like it could fit all of the four girls in.

"Yeah, whatever", Mary got up and stretched. "I'm about to take a piss right quick."

"TMI (Too much info), dude!" Hannah said in disgust.

"Tee-hee", Mary grabbed the flashlight and walked away from the campsite.

Few minutes after Mary 'used the bathroom'; she pulled up her red jeans and zipped them up. She picked up her flashlight and looked for a way back. Suddenly, she heard a sound of shaking bushes. She gasped as she looked around. With her flashlight, she used the light to see if anything was watching her. After she looked around her, she sighed in relief. All of the sudden, someone grabbed her neck from behind and started choking her. The force of that attack caused Mary to drop her flashlight. She screamed, but she wasn't loud enough due to the strong arms choking the life out of her. She tried again, but then the predator pounded her head and she fell down unconscious. Of course, the evil doer was Grim. He picked up the girl, held her on his left shoulder, and then walked away.

An hour later, Chelsea woke up from her sleep. Her MP3 player ran out of batteries and she wasn't happy about it. She sat up and turned to Hannah, who was sleeping on her log in daze. She saw the light from the tent and walked to it. She went in and saw Jessie sleeping peacefully in her Hello Kitty sleeping bag. But then, she noticed that someone was missing. Chelsea looked around the campsite and found no sign of Mary. She began to feel something bad. What if she got lost or kidnapped? Or was she trying to pull a prank on her like she did to Jessie? To make sure everything was ok, Chelsea decide to wake Jessie and Hannah up. First, she shook Hannah off of her log and she woke up.

"What?" the girl with short brown hair asked rudely.

"Mary's gone", the brunette with curly hair said.

"For real?" Hannah sat up in shock.

"I'll go and wake Jessie up", Chelsea went back inside of the tent.

"Damn, was I sleeping out here that long?" Hannah asked herself.

"Yo, wake up", Chelsea shook Jessie hardly.

"Ahh, what?!" Jessie sat up in fear.

"Mary's gone", Chelsea briefly explained.

"She is?!" Jessie gasped as she got out of her sleeping bag. "Oh, god, we gotta go find her!"

"Let's go", Chelsea said and she and Jessie got out of the tent.

About five minutes later, the three girls searched around the area and ended up at a different section of the forest. They weren't that far away from their campsite, since they could see some light from their campfire. Jessie stopped as she noticed a flashlight on the ground in front of everyone. She dashed to it as Chelsea and Hannah followed. Slowly, Jessie picked it up and realized that it was still on.

"Where could Mary have gone?" Chelsea asked worriedly.

"Probably to get herself drunk or something", Hannah shrugged her shoulders.

"But without a flashlight?" Jessie scowled at her.

"I was just kidding, gosh", Hannah yelled back at her.

"Knock it off, you two", Chelsea stepped in between them. "We just gotta find her and then we ask where she has been, ok?"

"Fine", Jessie and Hannah crossed their arms.

"Allow me", Chelsea took the flashlight from Jessie slightly and led the way.

A half an hour has passed since they searched for their best friend. They found nothing but footprints that led a very long trail. Nether less, they followed the trail. Until, they reached up to the front of a huge wooden house. All of the lights were off, and it was terribly dark outside. At first, it didn't look that scary. That was until a stroke of lightning gave Jessie a bad feeling of being at that place. Somehow, she recalled the part from Mary's story when the four girls were attacked from a serial killer that lived in a dark house. Clearly, she began to see it. A vision. She was the suspicious type, so she stepped back in fear. Hannah looked behind her and watched Jessie shiver frightfully.

"What's wrong with you?"

"We should get out of here", Jessie suggested. "I have a bad feeling about this place. I mean, you know how Mary's scary story went, right?"

"Oh, she was just trying to scare you, Jessie", Hannah giggled.

"No, seriously", the blonde with a long ponytail said. "The house…the three girls…all of that. It's all coming true for all of us."

"Well, how else are we going to know where Mary is?" Chelsea crossed her arms.

"Please, you guys", Jessie begged calmly. "Let's just get out of here and call the police."

"This will only take one second", Chelsea ignored her beggings and walked up the front porch.

"Wait, no-!" Jessie tried to stop her, but Hannah blocked her way.

Cautiously, Chelsea walked up the two small stairs to the front door. She took a good look at the door. It was wooden to be exact, but it looked a little busted. There were dust and cutting marks all over it. At first, the brunette thought of running back to her friends, but she didn't. Instead, she knocked on the door hardly and asked if anyone was there. After a minute as passed, she stopped knocking. Silence built through the three girls. Suddenly, the clouds began to gather around the sky and made a sound of thunder. A few raindrops fell down to the ground. Then it started pouring hardly. Jessie, Hannah, and Chelsea covered their heads with their jacket hoods as they shivered with coldness.

"I guess we gotta keep looking", Chelsea turned around. "I mean, I don't see anyone in there-," she explained as the door opened behind her slightly and quietly.

With a blink of an eye, a hand wearing with a black glove pulled Chelsea into the house. The door slammed loudly and the other two girls gasped. Both of them yelled out for her name. All they could hear was Chelsea's screaming, piercing sounds of guts being stabbed, and a final punch to shut her up. Then there was silence. Jessie and Hannah hugged each other, since they were getting scared. Just then, a man dressed in black kicked the door open. He had a long bread knife, covered with Chelsea's brick red blood. The two girls screamed with horror and took off running in the opposite direction. Calmly, the man in black followed them by walking.

Jessie ran faster than Hannah, since she freaked out the most. Suddenly, a bear trap caught Hannah's right ankle and she collapsed. She screamed in pain and Jessie stopped to see if she was ok. The brunette with short brown hair seethed in pain as she tried to unhook the trap. Jessie was about to walk to her, but then she saw the crazed man approaching Hannah from behind. Hannah gasped as she looked back.

"Run now! Go get some help!" she ordered, acting like she wasn't scared.

"Ok", Jessie nodded and then took off again.

Hannah struggled to get free, but the trap kept closing in on her bloody ankle. It was no use. The damn thing was too strong for her to get loose from and she felt like she couldn't walk. The man in black held his knife under her neck roughly, and then…

Lightning burst the sky as the thunder boomed fearsomely. Jessie ran her fastest until she saw her campsite. Luckily, she found it in time before the fire died out. She ran to the tent and zipped it up. Shakily and hurriedly, she searched all of the bags to find a cell phone. She searched through her's, then Chelsea's, Hannah's, and then Mary's. Successfully, she pulled out a Verizon Wireless cell phone and dialed 9-1-1. She panted in fear as she waited for an answer. But she didn't know that the killer was outside of the tent, right next to where she sat on her knees. Yep, he was at the perfect spot to kill her.

"Hello?" a woman's voice finally answered.

"Th-there's a guy aftering me! I-I ne-e-eed s-s-some help right now!" Jessie said in panic.

"Calm down, ma'am", the woman replied calmly.

"No, I will not calm the fuck down!" Jessie hollered angrily. "I need some help, my friends are dead, and I have a crazy killer aftering me!"

"Ok, now, what happened?" the woman asked.

"I just told you that my friends are dead! They've been killed! Slaughtered by a huge bread knife!" Jessie panted hardly.

"Ok, where are you?" the woman said, since she couldn't calm the seventeen year old down.

"Ok, I'm at a campsite, deep within the Mys-," Jessie explained jittery.

Before she completed her sentence, the man ripped the tent open and grabbed her by the neck. She coughed for some air as she dropped the phone. Approximately, the man got on top of her and covered her mouth. She reached for the phone, but it was to far away from her. As the woman asked if she was still there, the man held up his knife.

"Hello? Hello?" the voice asked again as Jessie's crimson red blood rained on her sleeping bag and on the phone buttons and screen. "Are you still there?"

Later that night, Grim went out to the back of his house. He dug a hole beneath the ground. After he took the last scoop of dirt with his shovel, he threw it to the side. He then took the four dead girls that he just killed and dropped them inside the hole. Once that was done, Grim grabbed his shovel and took one last look of his new victims.

"This is fun", he chuckled evilly and began to bury them with lots of dirt.

To Be Continued…


	46. Chapter 46:Meeting the Witness

Ch.46: Meeting the Witness

The next morning, Espio printed out a piece of paper off of the computer. He was at the library, looking up the info on the witness who took the photo shot of Grim. He has only been there for about 10 minutes after he left the agency. After he took the paper, he scanned it slowly. It read that Jack Nickerson lived at a very dark warehouse just near the outer sections of Station Square. Espio nodded and left the library. Inside Vector's car, he and Mighty were snoring loudly in their sleep. Lucia, Ana, and Charmy were still awake, looking out the windows next to them. All of them decided to join Espio because they thought that they could be a big help. A sudden moment later, Espio opened the passenger's door and got in. He shook Vector hardly just to wake him up.

"Gah, what, what the hell?!" the crocodile hopped as he looked around frightenedly.

"Um…" Espio sweatdropped.

"Thanks for ruining my nap, dude", Mighty yawned as he opened his eyes slowly.

"So, um…Whatcha find?" Vector scratched his head.

"I found the address to the witness", Espio explained. "Let's go."

"Um, should we get Amy first?" Charmy asked nicely.

"Well, there's two problems", Espio sighed. "One, there isn't a lot of room in this hunk of junk."

"Which is MY car!" Vector snarled.

"Second", Espio ignored him. "I'm guessing that Amy's 'busy' again."

"Why do you say that?" Mighty asked with a yawn.

"Because she has a B-O-Y-F-R-I-E-N-D", Espio crossed his arms.

"**HOLY SHIT, ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"** Mighty, Vector, Charmy, and Lucia asked in shock.

"Yeah…" Espio answered with a bigger sweatdrop. "Anyway, we don't need her right now. We can handle this."

"Ok, so, um…" Vector took a look at the address. "Wow, we got a long way to go. Should we get something to eat first?"

"Very well, then", Espio sighed. "After that, we get down to business."

"You got it", Vector turned on the ignition as everyone buckled up.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Tails were still working on the Tornado plane. Obviously, Tails was doing all of the work because Sonic wasn't good with mechanics. However, the blue hedgehog kept spacing out at some sort. While the orange fox was putting a few parts underneath the plane, Sonic sat on a chair and looked forward. Something was bothering him. He was thinking about Amy, as always. But this time, he was thinking about her safety. Since he heard about the crazed killing spree the past week, he's been very worried about her. Plus, he wanted to see her again in order to tell her some important things. All he could do now was to think and pray for her.

"Hey, Sonic", Tails spoke as he reached his hand out for the toolbox. "Could you hand me the toolbox right quick? …Sonic?"

Tails crawled out under the plane and looked at Sonic. Apparently, that wasn't new to him. Considering that Sonic was worried about Amy's life, he's been extremely quiet. Not to mention that he used to be a loud mouth a long time ago. That Sonic would speak a few times after a few hours at a time. He was definitely silent. Although, that wasn't his fault. He wondered where Amy was, what she was doing, and how she was feeling right about now. If he could see her again, then he would take that time and do it. But Sonic had to think when the right time comes. Still, he missed her…badly.

"_Man",_ Tails thought to himself. _"This isn't my first time seeing him like this. I mean, he's been very quiet every since that killing spree news report. I can tell that he's worried about Amy. I'm worried about her too. But man, Sonic has changed a lot…"_

"…", Sonic crossed his arms and looked down to his knees. _"Amy",_ he thought worriedly. _"Please, please be ok…"_

A couple of hours later, the Chaotix made it to an empty warehouse. They would've made it sooner, but there was too many traffic in the way. So now, they were there. However, the warehouse looked very old. It was only two stories high, the windows were covered with white curtains, and the front designs on the house looked anciently old. Hopefully, it wasn't haunted. Charmy and Lucia gulped as Mighty shivered in fear. Vector began to pick his nose as Espio read the address again. Sure enough, it was definitely the right place. In fact, they were at the only house on the block! Also, the rose garden looked horribly ugly. The flowers were dead and the grass was barely seen through the light brown sandy ground. A few wind breezes chilled the group as they zipped up their coats. Lucia held Ana closely, because she was more terrified than the others.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Vector tilted his head to Espio slowly.

"Yeah", the chameleon said, wishing that he was wrong. "We better make this quick."

"Agreed", Mighty gulped.

Carefully and slowly, the group walked up to the front door. Espio was the first one in line. He took a good look at the door. It was white, but it was covered with busted holes and strange black stuff on it. Taking a deep breath, Espio knocked on the door twice. Everyone else gulped because they imagined if the guy tried to kill them. After a moment of quietness, the door slowly opened. A man was standing there with a long white t-shirt, jeans with a few holes in them, and had on a couple of plain white socks. He looked like the age of 37, had short black hair, a black mustache under his nose, a little bit of facial hair on his chin, and his skin looked kind of dry. In his left hand, he held a bottle of Bud Light beer.

"Yeah, what do you want?" he asked rudely.

"Are you Jack Nickerson?" Espio asked slowly, trying not to get scared.

"The one and only", Jack answered and took a sip of his beer bottle. "So what can I do for ya, eh?"

"I need to speak with you for the moment", Espio replied.

"Yeah, yeah, come on in", Jack greeted everyone into the house.

Espio and the gang walked inside the house as Jack closed the door. They took a look around the place. The living room was empty except there was a large brown couch in the middle of the wooden floor. Mighty, Vector, and Lucia walked to the couch and sat on it. Charmy gave Espio a frightened look on his face. The chameleon mouthed 'I'll be ok' and Charmy buzzed to the couch with the others taking all of the room.

As they sat quietly, Jack and Espio walked to the kitchen. The whole room looked sort of unclean, since there was dust on the counters and cabinets. The white floor was partially covered with torned newspapers and empty boxes everywhere. Plus, there was a lot for dirty dishes in the filthy sink. As for the old refrigerator, Espio did not want to know what was in there. He took a seat at the glass table as Jack sat across form him.

"So what can I do for ya, eh?" Jack asked.

"Well…If I'm correct, you're the one that took a picture of the killer, right?" Espio started.

"Yeah, why?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"Well, how was you able to do that without getting caught?" Espio asked back.

"Well…I was at the same stripper's club that the guy left one night last week", Jack explained. "Before he walked out of the door, I took a picture of him and continued my partying."

"Is this your first time taking a photo shot of him?" Espio asked.

"Well, no, actually", Jack scratched his head. "I've been taking small shots of him for about 2 years now."

"Wait a minute, 2 years?" Espio widened his eyes in shock. "That guy has been killing women for about 2 years?!"

"Yep. It didn't matter where he was. If he saw a beautiful girl, he would kill her softly. I mean he kills all kinds of girls-Humans, hedgehogs, foxes, echidnas, and others."

"Do you know how many places he's been to?" Espio spoke back.

"I dunno", Jack rubbed his chin. "He's been through a lot of cities in this country. But I'll tell you this. Before he came here, he used to kill a lot in Los Angeles."

"Damn", Espio gasped in shock.

"I mean, it's possible that he'll become America's Most Wanted", Jack said. "Wait, he probably is, except they don't know what his name is."

Espio got silent as he felt shock. Two years for real?! Now, that was truly surprising to hear. Wonder if the guy has been following him through that time. It seemed like this case was more serious than Espio thought it would be. As for Jack, he didn't care about sharing his info. That was the only thing he could do since that's his best skill in life. Sure it seemed dangerous, but he thought about how much money he would make in time when they catch the criminal.

"How do you…follow him so quietly?" Espio asked with wonder.

"Um…When I see him, I hide at a corner or something, then take a photo shot of him, and then I leave", Jack explained.

"You got any more pictures?"

"Yeah, they're all over the floor", Jack answered.

"One last question", Espio said. "Have you ever seen his face?"

"No, I did not", Jack said. "However, this could surprise you, but I've sometimes seen him in the daylight."

"Day…light?" Espio asked surprisingly.

"Hey, you know that girl in there?" Jack tilts his head to the side.

The chameleon looked over to his right. His friends were still in the living room, sitting on the couch quietly. All they did through the whole time was staring at the white wall. Espio examined closely and saw Lucia. She was holding Ana as she looked down at her. Of course, that's who Jack was mentioning.

"Keep an eye on her", Jack waved his finger. "And if you have other girlfriends, keep an eye on them too."

"Hm", Espio nodded. "So the guy has been killing innocent women for two years, without getting caught?"

"Yes sir", Jack nodded.

"Thanks", Espio got up form the chair. "By the way, the guy's name is 'Grim'."

"I'll remember that", Jack said and took another sip of his beer.

Espio walked into the living room and looked at his friends. They turned to him, surprised that he was still alive. Then all of them got off of the couch. Without saying goodbye, they walked out of the front door. After that, they got in the car and left. Now that Jack was all alone, he gulped down the last of his beer. He belched disgustedly as he rubbed his beer belly. Suddenly, he heard some footsteps coming from above. Further most, he got out of his chair and walked up the stairs. He could've sworn that he heard something in his bedroom. So he decided to take a look. He flipped on the light and found nothing. All he saw were the badge colored walls, his small bed with blue covers on it, and the bed stand with the lamp sitting on it. Although, Jack felt like he was hearing things. He yawned as he closed the door behind him.

But guess who was behind the open door through the whole time. It was Grim! Before Jack walked to his bed, he was grabbed by the neck and started harking for some air. As he continued to breath, Grim twisted his neck and threw him on the floor. It looked as seemed that he was listening to the conversation between him and Espio. In fact, he seems to be pretty sneaky! But how did he find the address to the place? Was he following the Chaotix? Did he sneak in some backdoor while Jack was distracted? Seemingly, things were getting very serious for Grim. He hated witnesses and those who try to take him down. So now, he was ready for some action.

"Hmph", Grim crossed his arms and looked down at the dead man. "Try to take another shot of me now."

On the tanned carpet floor, Jack lied there, dead. His head was turned to his right hardly that Grim could barely see a bone under the skin. Blood started flowing in Jack's mouth and then slipped out of his lips. Now, there wasn't a witness to tattle tale on Grim now…

To Be Continued.


	47. Chapter 47:Wrong Timing, Sonic

Ch.47: Wrong Timing, Sonic

That night, Sonic was sitting at the kitchen table quietly. Through the whole day, he hasn't said a word to Tails. It was all because he was worried about Amy. As for Tails, he stayed quiet too. He was sitting across from Sonic with his head down. Both of them were worried about Amy. Mostly, Sonic was scared for her life. If the killer got her, then what would happen for him? Would he kill himself to join her? Or would he kill the criminal for revenge? For once, Sonic felt confused. What was he going to do?

Back at Amy's apartment, she was watching some TV with Cream. They sat on the couch as they had a cup of cocoa. They were watching a TV show called 'Seinfield'. As it went onto commercials, the phone suddenly rang. Amy drank the rest of her cocoa and walked to it. She picked it up and answered it.

"Hello? ...Hey…Nothing, I'm just sitting here watching TV…Tonight? …Um, ok…I'll get ready."

Cream listened through the whole conversation. She knew what Amy was about to say. In fact, she could tell what was going to happen tonight. As Amy hung up the phone, Cream crossed her arms. A sigh came out of her mouth.

"So, lemme guess", she spoke. "You're going on a date tonight with Shadow, right?"

"You better believe it!" Amy cheered.

"Ugh, lucky!" Cream pouted at the ceiling.

"Relax, you'll get your turn", Amy chuckled. "Besides, he'll be here in about an hour."

"So why get ready so early?" Cream asked.

"Because…I wanna look good this time", Amy walked to her bedroom.

"Yeah, yeah", Cream shrugged as she flipped some channels.

Meanwhile, Sonic was still thinking to himself. He couldn't wait any longer. He had to find Amy and to see if she's ok. Not only that, but he had a lot of things to confess to her. Just then, he got up out of his seat and walked to the front door. Tails was asleep on the couch with the TV on showing a western cowboy movie. Before he opened the door, he took a look at his buddy. If he woke up, who knows what could happen. He might get worried and start looking for him without a doubt. So then, Sonic tip-toed to a table next to the door. A piece of paper and a pen was sitting on it for no reason. However, it was a good thing that Sonic could write a note down. He sat down on his knees, grabbed the black ink pen, and started writing something down. After that, he got up and walked out for the front door. Leaving the note on the table it read:

_I'll be back soon. Something just came up-Sonic._

Back with Amy, she started pacing back and forth. Cream, once again, got distracted from watching TV as she turned to her. She sighed as Amy stopped. What's up with her now? Is she forgetting something? Did she forget to tell Shadow something important?

"What's wrong, Amy?" Cream asked.

"How should I do my hair?" Amy turned to her anxiously.

"Um…That depends, why?"

"Because, I wanna try something different this time."

"Hm…" Cream pondered for a moment.

Back with Sonic, he rode along the train back to Station Square. He sat all by himself as he fiddled with his fingers. Supposedly, he was mad nervous right now. Just to see Amy again made him think a lot. What was he going to say to her? Even though he wanted to check up on her, there was something more to it. Since he had plenty of time, he started to think of what he was going to say to Amy.

"_What should I say?"_ he asked himself in thought. _"What should I say?"_

Sometime later, Amy got done doing her hair. All she did was tying her hair into a ponytail and made a few curls into it. Now there were a couple of things to take care of. She had to find a good dress to wear and what kind of make up she should put on. Since it was a Sunday night, why not dress up different for the end of the weekend? Quietly, Amy began to think to herself.

Finally, Sonic made it to Station Square. He got out of the train and rushed out of the train station. Panting in exhaustion, he looked at his watch. The time read 8:45. Then he looked up at the moon. It was a crescent moon along with a few clouds covering half of it. Something told him that he had to get to Amy fast. Was she in trouble right now? Desperately and hurriedly, he took off with his supersonic speed. While he passed by the sidewalks, he kept his mind focus on Amy. Not anything else.

Amy came out of the bathroom after she put on a new dress. Now this dress was different from the others. She had on a light pink evening dress that went down to her knees with lots of diamond glitter on it. It was designed with a santung silk fabric that showed her belly and some fake roses on it. Also, Amy had on her gorgeous red heels. Plus, she had on her necklace that Shadow gave her, and a couple of pink diamond earrings that she hasn't wore in a long time. Her red lipstick shunned, the white pink blush made her cheeks look pretty, her eye lashes were curled up this time, and this time she wore some hott pink eye blush to show some color. Cream's jaws dropped again in big awe.

"Whaddya think?" Amy stroked a cute modeling pose.

"Wow", Cream raised her hands up in the air.

Surely after Sonic's long jog, he made it to Emerald Hotel. He panted hardly as he looked up at the windows on the second story floor. The time has come. He has waited for a long time for this and he had to do it. This was his big chance. Laboriously, he ran inside and looked for an elevator.

During that time, Amy was adding a few finishing touches to herself. She brushed her teeth carefully and flossed them, chewed some 'Winterfresh' gum to make her breath smell good, and add some glitter to her lips. Then afterwards, she got done. Finally, she was ready for her date. Cream gave her two thumbs up and then looked back at the television. Amy then grabbed her room key and her short red purse, and walked out of the door.

Soon enough, Sonic ran out of the elevator after the long ride. If only a lot of people didn't need to ride the damn thing, otherwise he could've reached to Amy sooner! But now, he had to hurry up and get things done. He looked to his right and saw Amy. Her dress looked so drop dead gorgeous on her. Almost spacing out, Sonic shook his head and then walked to Amy. Meanwhile, the pink hedgehog put her room key in her pocket, closed the door behind her, and looked at her golden watch. She turned around to her right but then stopped. Right in front of her was Sonic.

"Hey", Amy took a small step back awkwardly.

"Hey", Sonic waved.

"So, what brings you here?" Amy crossed her arms.

"I thought that we could talk right quick", Sonic replied as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Make it quick", Amy looked at her watch.

"Amy…" the blue hedgehog started. "You know that we've been through so much a long time ago, right? And that we'll always be friends, right?"

"Well, yeah", the rose shrugged her shoulders. "Why?"

"Well…you've changed", Sonic spoke up nervously. "More than I have. Ever since we met up again a while back, I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"Erm…ok?" Amy swift her eyes side to side oddly.

"I've been worried about you, Ames", Sonic spoke again.

"You have?" Amy turned to him.

"Yeah", Sonic nodded. "I mean, I couldn't stop thinking about you after I heard about the killing spree news report. Every time I close my eyes, I get scared to open them. It's like; I don't want to see you get hurt or killed."

"_Here we go again",_ Amy said in thought. "Well, thanks for your concern, but…" she said until Sonic placed a fingertip on her lips.

"I'm not done yet", the blue hedgehog whispered.

"What then?" Amy asked impatiently.

"Amy, I…I…I …" Sonic tried to speak but he began to choke.

Amy sighed as she shook her head. What was his problem? This wasn't his first time seeing him like that. In fact, Amy recalled the whole event between her and Sonic after McKenzie's funeral. But both of them didn't know that Cream was listening to the whole conversation. She had the TV turned low at some sort and had her right ear placed on the door carefully. Everything was starting to get serious out there, and she could feel it. For now, she had to keep quiet.

"Look…I don't really have time for this-," Amy walked pass Sonic.

"Amy, don't chu see!?" Sonic grabbed her arms gently and spun her to him. **"I LOVE YOU!"** he confessed as loud as he could.

Amy and Cream gasped. Did Sonic really just say that?! Golly, that was unexpecting. Who ever thought that Sonic would confess his own feelings to someone that 'used' to be in love with him a long time ago? Between the three of them, Amy was mostly surprised. She remembered that she used to have a huge crush on him, but he turned her down to go for Sally. Oh, and what if she found about 'THIS' moment between them!? However, Sonic didn't want to explain about his break up with Sally, but he didn't care to think about it. A blush came upon Amy's face as she looked away from her old crush. Heck, she was about to go on a date for peace sakes! So why did he have to say it at that moment? Still, Amy didn't want to accept his feelings back. Why? Because she didn't love him back, ever since a long time ago…

"Sorry, but…" Amy spoke, breaking all of the silence.

"Amy", Sonic interrupted as he shook his head. "I know that we couldn't work out in the past, but we can try this now. I was such a fool going with Sally, so I totally learned my lesson."

"Sonic…" Amy starred at him in awe.

"This is what you've been dreaming about, right?" Sonic asked with happy tears. "Me and you, together forever, right? We can do this as long as we stick together. See, I can make all of your dreams come true, Amy."

"Yeah, but-," Amy tried to get away.

"Please, I want to be with you", Sonic said desperately as tears fell out of his eyes.

"No, I can't-," Amy struggled to get loose.

"Yes", Sonic nodded.

"No, I-," Amy gasped as she was pulled back into Sonic's arms.

Out of nowhere, Sonic pressed his lips on her's romantically. Now that was REALLY unexpecting. How in the world did he start acting like that? So things started to change. Now Sonic was the chaser and Amy was the runner. Flashbacks appeared in Amy's mind. It all started a long time ago, when they first met. That was the first time that Sonic ever saved her. It was hard to believe that since they were little kids. As they grew, Amy's emotions changed around him. She was in love him, and would do anything for him. But then, Amy saw a painful flashback when Sonic told her that he didn't love her and went with Sally.

After seeing that flashback, Amy shoved Sonic off of her and broke their kiss. Their romantic moment was ruined as they panted slowly. Sonic wiped some of Amy's lipstick off of his lips onto his white glove. Suddenly, Sonic noticed something behind her. Amy turned around and gasped. They saw…Shadow. He was in a brown tux along with a brand new pair of dark brown dress shoes. It looked like he was watching through the whole time, because he had a very, very, VERY angry look on his face. He showed his teeth with rage as he had his fists clenched hardly.

"Shadow-," Amy spoke.

"**DON'T CHU EVER TALK TO ME AGAIN!"** Shadow hollered angrily with hot tears. He shrugged with frustration as he turned around and took off.

"No, Shadow, wait!" Amy called out for him. "Thanks a lot", she growled furiously as she took off to follow her 'true love'.

"Ames!" Sonic called out for her as he watched her take off. "I'm sorry!"

Poor Sonic. He felt terrible for kissing Amy in front of Shadow. Now he knew that they were boyfriend and girlfriend. If he only he came to her first, then this wouldn't have happened. So he figured that Amy wouldn't talk to him ever again. There came dilemma again, possibly a love triangle. This time it was circling around Sonic, Amy, and Shadow. Even though Sonic loved Amy, she loved Shadow more. For a hero, he made a stupid mistake. He felt heartbroken again, but more badly than last time. He rested his back on the wall and sighed hardly. Slowly, he slid down to the Persian red carpet floor, and hugged his knees. Then he hid his face on his knees. He sniffled as a few tears began to fall from his eyes.

Cream heard everything. She felt bad for those three hedgehogs. Sadness, love, jealousy, all of those feeling was flowing into them. She only wished that she could cheer them up. However, it wasn't any of her business. Still, it almost felt like she was experiencing a real life scene from a soap opera show. The rabbit sat on the floor and rested her back on the door and started listening to Sonic's small sobs.

To Be Continued.


	48. Chapter 48:Broken and Restored

Ch.48: Broken and Restored

"Shadow?" Amy called out as she entered the emergency stairwell.

Footsteps were heard from below. Amy looked down and saw Shadow rushing to the bottom stair so he could run out of the door. She dashed down the stairs, but had to be careful because she was wearing heels. That Sonic, he totally broke up their relationship! If Amy could go back now, she would've smacked him across the face for kissing her like that. But why didn't she do that after he placed his lips on her's? It wasn't like she was waiting for it; something was holding her back from smacking him. An old feeling was starting to build up inside of Amy. However, she didn't want to go back to him. Her only man she loves is Shadow, and she didn't want him to leave her.

(_**BGM plays 'I Love You' by Faith Evans**_)

Shadow finally made it to the final step and stopped. He bent over as he panted in exhaustion. Sweat and tears were dripping down to the floor as he stood up straight and held his chest. It was so heartbreaking watching Sonic and Amy kissing each other. Maybe yelling at her was a pretty harsh idea, but he couldn't believe his eyes. Suddenly, Amy called out for him and he looked up. Furiously, Shadow ran out of the emergency exit. Lucky in time, Amy made it to the last step. She ran out to follow him. The black hedgehog stopped and waited for her surprisingly. Amy stopped running as she was behind him. She panted hardly as she tried to hold back her tears.

(Amy's P.O.V.)

_That damn Sonic. If only he didn't kiss me, then I wouldn't have to run in those stupid heels to get a sore foot. However, I was glad that Shadow stopped and waited for me. Still, I wondered why. I took a step back just in case he might make an attempt to smack me. So I got prepared. Inside my mind, I prayed to God that he wouldn't hate me and break up with me_. (P.O.V. ends)

_**(Verse 1):**_

_**My heart belongs to you  
So what could I do  
To make you feel I'm down with  
You see me hangin around  
But you don't know how you make me feel for you, and**_

"…Shadow", Amy spoke softly.

"So you've decided to come back to me, huh?" Shadow asked rudely without looking at her.

"Look, this isn't my fault", Amy tried to explain.

"How could you do this to me, Amy?!" Shadow turned to her madly with more hot tears. "I love you and you said that you loved me back!"

"I do love you, Shadow", Amy replied with cold tears. "I didn't even kiss Sonic. He kissed me and I tried to break free, and-,"

"No", Shadow shook his head, thinking that she was lying.

"I'm telling you the truth", Amy spoke back as she held back her sob. "I don't even love him."

"You…don't?" Shadow looked at her as his tears dried a little.

"No", Amy shook her head. "I only love you, and I don't want this relationship to end. I dunno what his problem is, but I'm not going back to him."

_**(Hook):**_

_**Each and every day, I try to make some sense of this  
What you mean to me, I know it could be serious  
Each and every night, I dream about just holding you  
Wanting you like this, what is a girl supposed to do**_

The wind blew Amy's hair to the side smoothly as Shadow's quills brushed to the side a little. They never thought that they would go through that. But that was their first time right? Amy loved Shadow and she would never go with Sonic. Not ever since he turned her down and went with Sally. But did Sonic really wanted to get with Amy? She didn't want to think about it, because she had to stay focus on her love. Shadow sighed as he bent his head down a little.

"Sorry", he spoke softly.

"Huh?" Amy blinked twice.

"It's just…" Shadow walked to his car and sat on the hood as Amy followed. "This isn't my first time seeing a girlfriend with another man."

"You can tell me", Amy wrapped her left arm around him. "I'll understand."

_**(Chorus):**_

_**I love you (I love you)  
I want you (I want you)  
You're the one that I live for  
And I can't take it any more  
I love you (I love you)  
I need you (I need you)  
What can I do to make you see  
You're the only one for me**_

"Well", Shadow sighed. "I've been in a few relationships that ended when we made vows that we would stick together", he began to see flashbacks. "I only had four girlfriends. One of them was a high school sweetheart of mine. But...When I went to prom, I saw her with someone else making out."

"Oh, my god", Amy gasped quietly.

"As for the other three", Shadow started again. "All of them were girlfriends after high school. Through each other those relationships, I ended up get cheated on behind my back. And guess what; they didn't even care about how I felt. So that's why I got so mad back there. I don't want to be mad at you, Amy, but it's really hard to keep myself together."

"Shadow..." Amy looked at him surprisingly after the flashbacks ended. "I had no idea that you've been through so much. I mean, you're a good-looking guy."

"Hmph, that's why those girls went with me", Shadow looked down at his knees. "Because I was good looking. They missed more things than that, but they didn't understand that."

_**(Verse 2):**_

_**First time I saw your face  
My heart just erased  
All the guys I knew before  
You walked into my life  
I was the type to never want for nothing**_

Tears dropped to Shadow's knees as he closed his eyes hardly. Just telling that story made him feel so sick to his stomach. Amy held him closely in her amrs as she rubbed his left shoulder caringly. Somehow, both of them had something in common. Both of them had feelings for someone special, but they turned them down hardly. Amy remembered that she felt the same way when Sonic decided to go with Sally and broke her heart. Till this day, Amy would never go back to him. He ruined their chances before, and he ruined a big one right now. As for Shadow, he felt confused. Was she going to stay with him after what just happened? He began to have doubts, but he had to wait for the answer though.

_**(Hook):**_

_**Each and every day, I try to make some sense of this  
What you mean to me, I know it could be serious  
Each and every night, I dream about just holding you  
Wanting you like this, what is a girl supposed to do**_

"You're not the only one that's going through this, Shadow", Amy said. "Trust me, I know how you feel."

"You were…" Shadow looked at her shockingly. "…cheated on too?"

"I used to have a stupid crush on Sonic a long time ago", Amy crossed her arms and looked away a little. "That was until he told me that he didn't love me and he went on with Sally."

"But he sounded like he wanted to be with you", Shadow replied with concern.

"Come on", Amy turned to him. "Why would I get with him so soon when I'm with you? I don't love him anymore. He's just a guy that I can barely remember his name from the past."

"Then…you're not going to take your chance to be with him?" Shadow asked.

"No", Amy shook her head. "I'm done with him. I don't want to get my heart broken again. Nor do I want to be alone. I was tossed into a great big hole of darkness when he left me." She began to see a certain flashback at the graveyard after McKenzie's funeral.

"_Have you ever felt like you loved someone, but then they just toss you into a great hole of darkness?" Sonic asked sadly._

"_Hmm", Amy lowered her head. "That's funny, cause I felt the same thing when you left me for Sally", she looked at him with sadness and anger._

"_Ahh", Sonic gasped in shock._

"_So tell me something that I don't know", Amy turned around and stomped off._

After that flashback, Amy sighed. Her life was just going crazy right now. She never thought that she would have two guys after her. But she wished that Sonic didn't have to kiss her in front of Shadow. As for Shadow, he was shock from hearing her story. He held her to his chest and rested his head on her's.

"I'm sorry", he apologized softly.

"No, its ok", Amy said. "Besides, that's his loss."

"Hmm", Shadow nodded. "Come on", he released her.

The two hedgehogs got off the hood of the sportscar and got in. They buckled up without saying a word. However, Amy wanted to know where they were going for a date this time. Shadow took a deep breath and turned on the ignition. A while later, they left the hotel.

_**(Chorus, repeats then fades):**_

_**I love you (I love you)  
I want you (I want you)  
You're the one that I live for  
And I can't take it any more  
I love you (I love you)  
I need you (I need you)  
What can I do to make you see  
You're the only one for me **_

I love you, I want you, I need you in my life  
Can't you see what you mean to me  
Baby come hold me tight  
I miss you, wanna kiss you  
Everytime I see your face  
Baby I'll be waiting for you  
Each and everyday 

Back with Sonic, he stopped his sobbing and stood up. He wiped the tears from his eyes as he sighed painfully. He totally screwed things up this time. But all he wanted to let Amy know was that he loved her and he wanted to work things out for her. Still, he could tell that Amy was pissed off at him. What if she and Shadow were having a huge argument right now? Or what if they suddenly got back together? The blue hedgehog wrapped his arms around his stomach as he began to feel sick. He didn't want to kiss Amy in front of Shadow, and he didn't want to be called some kind of 'man whore' from anyone. It was a good thing that there wasn't anyone around to see all of that. But the only witness to all was Cream. She has listened to Sonic's conversation with Amy, Shadow's yelling, and Sonic's sobs all together. Drama, love, and heartbroken. All of those feelings were mixing up inside the three hedgehogs.

"Amy", Sonic said to himself sadly. "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

"_Poor Sonic",_ Cream thought to herself with sorrow.

Sighing with sadness, Sonic walked away from Amy's room door. He continued to hold his stomach as he had his head down. He wasn't going to puke actually, he was feeling ashamed. This was his first time kissing a woman that belonged to someone else. He could apologize to them, but they would probably call him names and Shadow might kick his ass. But he had to do the right thing to set things right. Outside, Sonic walked out of the twin doors. Amy and Shadow were nowhere to be found. So he figured that they went on their date. Sonic started walking away from the hotel as he kept himself quiet and held back his tears.

To Be Continued…


	49. Chapter 49:True Love

Ch.49: True Love

Later that night, Amy and Shadow left Italian Paradise. Through the whole time, they were silent. Plus, they barely touched their food. Apparently, they couldn't forget that moment when Sonic kissed Amy. Damn that blue hedgehog. It was his entire fault. Even though they had a small talk about their pasts, Amy and Shadow didn't feel like talking anymore. Still, they were taking their time to forgive each other.

"You ok?" Shadow asked he wrapped his arm around Amy's shoulder.

"I guess", Amy sighed. "It's just that I can't stop thinking about my past."

"Me too", Shadow looked away.

"I dunno if I want to go back home tonight", Amy looked down to the ground.

"Well…Do you wanna come over to my place?" Shadow asked shyly.

"…Ok", Amy shrugged her shoulders.

Suddenly, Shadow stopped. Amy stopped walking too and looked at him. What's wrong with him now? Something was tingling inside of Shadow and he could feel something coming. Amy blinked twice in surprise. She has never seen Shadow like that until now. Still, what was on his mind?

"Amy?" Shadow turned to her.

"Yeah?" Amy looked at him.

"Do you love me?" Shadow asked to make sure.

"Yeah", Amy nodded. "If I didn't, then I would tell you before I leave you. But right now, I need you in my life."

"Same here", Shadow held her in his arms. "We need love."

"Then how are we supposed to show it so we could stay together forever?" Amy asked.

Silently, Shadow looked at her. A small blush appeared on Amy's face. Slowly, Shadow reached for his lips. Amy knew what was coming, so she closed her eyes. Shadow closed his eyes too and kissed her. He wrapped his arms around her lower back as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Love was returning to them and they were glad that it did. So now, Sonic was in the back of their minds now. They continued to kiss for about 5 minutes, until they stopped and left the area.

_**(BGM plays 'At Your Best Remix' by Aaliyah and R. Kelly)**_

Sometime later, Amy and Shadow made it to his house. It wasn't big or small, but practically it looked normal. The two hedgehogs walked in as they continued kissing each other passionately. Shadow closed the door behind him as Amy pinned him on it and kissed him wildly. They were totally in love with each other. Those other times when they kissed were different. This time, their kiss showed that they couldn't get enough of each other. The black hedgehog panted as Amy started kissing on his neck. He was in heaven now as she was. In return, he kissed her back and reached his lips to her shoulder. Soon enough, they took it to the couch.

_**(Intr**__**o, R. Kelly):  
Aw Yeah  
1-2-check up,  
Baby Let me Know Wassup**_

_**(Repeats 4x) **_

Ooh Ooh (Aaliyah) 

The two hedgehogs continued kissing each other after they hit the couch. Shadow laid back gently as Amy got on top of him. They just couldn't stop kissing for some reason! However, both of them were starting to enjoy this. Even though this was Amy's first time doing this, she felt confident. That's only because she was with Shadow and he was with her. Suddenly, they stopped kissing each other. Both of them panted hardly as they gave each other a smile on their faces. As it was just said, they couldn't get enough of each other. Shadow moved Amy's bangs to the side and she kissed his fingertips. Just then, Amy started sucking on Shadow's thumb softly. Then afterwards, Shadow pulled her to his chest and started kissing her again.

_**(Verse 1-Aaliyah):**_

_**When I feel...  
What I feel...  
Sometimes It's hard to tell you so...  
You may not be in the mood to learn...  
What to think you know...  
1-2-check up, Baby let me know what's up  
There are times...  
When I...  
Find...  
You wanna keep Urself from me...  
When I don't Have the strength, I'm Just a Mirror...  
Of what I see, Yeah**_

"Shadow", Amy spoke as she stopped kissing.

"Yes?" Shadow whispered softly.

"Not here", Amy whispered in his left ear.

"Ok", Shadow nodded.

Amy got off of him as he sat up. He got off of the couch, carried Amy in his arms in bridal style, and then left the living room. He took her upstairs to his bedroom. While Amy waited, Shadow placed some cinnamon scented candles on the dressers and on the bed stand. After that, he turned on the music on his stereo and blew out the matches. Shortly after that, he opened the door and let Amy in.

_**(Chorus):**_

_**But at your Best, You are love, (yeah)  
You're a positive, motivating voice within my life (life)  
Should You ever feel the need to wonder why**_

Shadow's bedroom looked so magnificent. The large four walls were tan, the carpet was wheat colored, and the candles looked pretty in red. In the middle of the room, there was a king sized bed that had red and pink strawberry scented rose pedals on the red covers and pillows. As Amy continued to stare in awe, Shadow wrapped his arms around her waist and began to kiss her on the neck. To Amy's surprise, he smelled nice with his rich 'Eau De Toilette' cologne all over his body. And to Shadow's surprise, she smelled beautiful with her smooth 'Jennifer Lopez's Glow' perfume. All of the sudden, Shadow picked Amy up and looked at her. She then smiled and gave him a kiss. Carefully, Shadow took her to his bed and sat her on it.

_**(Let Me Know)  
Let me Know, Let me know,  
Let me know (Repeat 4x)**_

The two hedgehogs got on the big soft bed as they continued their kiss. Amy laid back as Shadow wrapped his arms around her hips. Gently, Amy removed Shadow's brown tux-like jacket and then took off his black tie. After that, Shadow began to deepen his lips into her's.

_**(R.Kelly):  
This is for the steppers, This is for the Steppers  
This is for the Steppers, Strictly for the steppers, yeah**_

Shadow tossed himself to the side a little as he and Amy STILL continued their kissing. As Amy's wrapped her arms aorund his neck, he suddenly stopped. At that moment, Amy opened her eyes. She looked into his ruby red eyes as he looked into her turquoise green eyes. Just then, Shadow pulled her closer to his chest and she felt his heartbeat.

"Amy?" Shadow whispered.

"Yeah?" Amy whispered back.

"Do you really love me?" the black hedgehog asked just to make sure, again.

"…I'll love you until the day you die", the pink hedgehog vowed and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Like how?" Shadow asked curiously.

"If I had to walk around the world…with blood pouring out of my body…just to be in your arms again…then I would die in your arms", Amy said poetically.

"Hm", Shadow smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "And I'll do the same."

"Why do you ask?" Amy asked curiously.

"Nothing", Shadow responded faintly and then placed his lips onto her's.

_**(Verse 2-Aaliyah):  
When you feel...  
What you feel...  
How hard for me to understand...  
Oh, So, many thangs...  
Have taken place...  
Before this Love...  
Affair Begannnn...  
But if you feel...  
Boy like I feel...  
Confusion can give way to doubt...  
For there are times, when I fall short of what I say...  
I'm all about...**_

_**(1-2-check up,  
Baby Let me Know Wassup)**_

And so, they continued. Easily, Shadow turned Amy and laid her on her back. Then he got on top of her and kissed her on the neck again. Then Amy started kissing him all over his face. Shadow returned the kiss as he pressed his lips onto her's again. Suddenly, Amy moaned as she felt his tongue moving around in her mouth. He moaned back a bit louder as Amy's tongue danced inside of his mouth. Romantically, Amy removed Shadow's shirt as he sighed freely. She giggled as she tickled his white sexy fury chest. He chuckled and then opened her arms. Passionately, he started kissing and licking her neck all the way to her lips. Returning that, Amy kissed him on the neck and gave him a small hickey. Then he gave her a small one on the neck.

_**(Chorus):**_

_**But at your Best, You are love, (yeah)  
You're a positive, motivating voice within my life (life)  
Should You ever feel the need to wonder why **_

(Let Me Know)  
Let me Know, Let me know,  
Let me know (Repeat 4x) 

"Take it off", Shadow whispered breezily.

"Hm?" Amy muffled as she continued to kiss him.

Steadily, Shadow opened her legs, sets his between, and then took her hands. Then he slowly placed them on the upper area of his pants. Amy let out a huge gasp as she widened her eyes in shock. Lightly, he moved her hands to his zipper and stopped. A huge red blush appeared on Amy's face. What in the world was he thinking!? Does he really want to 'get it on' so soon?! Yet again, Amy began to feel nervous. Shadow could tell since he felt her hands shaking like crazy. Strangely, he seemed calm. But he could tell that Amy didn't want to go TOO far, not yet. If they did, then they would have to go through a lot more than they thought. But if they REALLY wanted to get to it, then he had to go find some protection just in case. Shadow sighed as he massaged Amy's wrists calmly.

"It's ok", he whispered nicely. "We don't have to go further if you like."

Amy gulped as she continued blushing. She was TOO damn nervous right about now. And heck, he did say that they didn't have to go FURTHER now. Sometimes, she dreamed about him in some awesome looking boxers at a time like this. So now, it was about to come true. Bravely, Amy nodded and Shadow nodded back. Shakily and nervously, Amy unzipped his pants and then he kicked them off of him. A large sigh came out of Amy's mouth as she laid back in exhaustion. She just couldn't believe that she did that! Hard to believe, since this was her first time doing this. Actually, she felt like she was about to faint. Shadow was now seen in his large red and black boxers as he rolled his shoulders. Thereafter, he got on top of her and began another kissing moment. The two wrapped each other in their arms happily and romantically. Shadow wiped the sweat from Amy's forehead as he started kissing her cheeks and neck smoothly.

_**(Hook):**_

_**If you're won-dering  
(Ooh Boy)  
U gotta let me know,  
Babay  
Gotta let me know  
U don't have 2 worray.. ay  
(Repeat 2x)**_

The candles began to dim as time was passing by for the two lovers. With small flames, the cinnamon smell spread throughout the whole room. However, they didn't want it to end. They wanted more, affection, devotion, and all. If they stopped now, how would they get a good night sleep? Lots of sweat rolled down Amy's neck and reached to her chest. Some of Shadow's was rushing down to his stomach area. But, they didn't care. It was a new chapter between them. Now they would never grow apart from each other. Shadow was like a prince and Amy was his princess. Better yet, he felt like a king as she was his queen. Amy pulled him down as she began to French kiss him. He French back as he held her cheeks tenderly.

_**Let me Know, Let me know,  
Let me know (Repeat 4x)**_

Running out of breath, Shadow and Amy stopped kissing each other. Again, they panted with feebleness as they still had each other in their arms. A couple of minutes later, they were able to breath again. Before they continued, Shadow placed a fingertip on Amy's lips lovingly before she could've reached his. Amy blinked multiple times as another blush appeared on her face.

"Now it's your turn", Shadow whispered pleasantly as he wrapped his arms around Amy's back and began to unzip her dress.

Readily, Shadow removed the top area of Amy's dress. Then he pulled it all the way down to her legs. Moments later, they began to grind and kiss each other with love, passion, and togetherness. Soon enough, the candles went out slowly.

_**If you play your cards right, Baby** _

**Heyayayayayayay**

_**Song Ends.**_

To Be Continued…


	50. Chapter 50:Sonic's Letter

Ch.50: Sonic's Letter

The next morning at 10:00, Amy opened her eyes. She was under the covers with her lover, Shadow. He was still asleep next to her with his arms around her waist. He still had on his boxers as she still had on her white bra and panties. The smell from the candles still smelled good, even though the fire burnt out. The pink hedgehog yawned as she rubbed her eyes. She remembered that she spent the night with Shadow after their small date the other night. However, she felt some nervousness again because both of them were in bed together with their underwear on. Amy blushed red as she swift her eyes to the side. Just then, Shadow's arms stirred up to her shoulders and he sat his chin on her right shoulder. Seconds later, he opened his eyes and kissed her on the neck.

"Good morning, princess", he winked.

"Hey, sexy", Amy purred softly.

"Did you enjoy our romantic moment last night?" Shadow asked sweetly.

"Yes", Amy sighed dreamily. "That was so wonderful."

"Hm", Shadow smiled and gave her another kiss on her neck. "You want some breakfast?"

"Yeah", Amy yawned as she stretched out her arms.

"Ok", Shadow got out of the bed. "I'll make us something to eat", he walked out of the room.

Amy sighed peacefully as she looked up the tan colored ceiling. Obviously, she was happy right now. The night that they shared was like heaven. There was no way that they could break up now. Sure enough, they were going to be together forever. No turning back. If anyone tried to get in their way, then they could knock them down! As a matter a fact, Amy hasn't thought of Sonic since last night. Actually, she didn't care. She doesn't love him because she has found someone else. Karma, what goes around comes around. Sonic left her for Sally, now she left him for Shadow. So that's what he gets! And good riddens!

Meanwhile in the afternoon, Sonic was sitting outside of Tails' house all by himself. He still couldn't stop thinking about what happened the other night. It was his entire fault that Amy and Shadow got angry with each other. Who knows, they might've broke up or something! For the first time, Sonic felt guilty. Even if he did apologize to Amy, she probably wouldn't accept it and she might give him a great big smack on the face. Maybe a more horrible one than Sally's. So what was next for the blue hero now? Tails opened the door slightly and looked at Sonic. He was shocked as he noticed Sonic's sadness. He remembered after Sonic came home last night, he had lots of tears in his eyes and wouldn't tell him what happened. Not only that, but Sonic couldn't sleep either. The orange fox felt sorry for him, since he was going through more pain than he had.

"I'm so sorry, Amy", Sonic spoke softly that Tails could barely hear him.

"Hm?" the orange fox looked at him curiously.

"I'm so sorry", Sonic said again. "Please forgive me…I love you."

Tails covered his mouth so he wouldn't let out a huge gasp. Whoa, did he really just say that?! It was surprisingly really, because he remembered that Amy was crazy in love with him. But after Sonic left her for Sally, he hasn't heard from her since. Now Sonic was falling in love with her. Why was he saying that he was sorry anyway? Something must've happened to him last night; he couldn't stop thinking about it. Calmly, Tails released a sigh.

"You ok?" he asked nicely.

"No", Sonic replied as he shook his head.

"Did something…happen to you last night?" Tails asked friendly.

"Yeah", Sonic hid his face between his knees. "But I don't wanna talk about it."

"Well, um…Is there anything I can do?" Tails asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

"No", Sonic replied. "Just leave me alone, please."

"Ok", Tails sighed as his ears lowered.

"No, no, I'm sorry", Sonic shook his head and got up. "It's just…I don't think that I can approach Amy anymore."

"Why?" Tails asked.

"I…don't really want to talk about it", Sonic lowered his head. "But I wish that there was a way to tell her that I'm sorry."

"_Yeah, but for what?"_ Tails asked in thought as he scratched his head.

Sonic crossed his arms as the wind breezed him softly. His quills surfed to the side slowly as he sighed. Tails' bangs flew to the side too as he starred at Sonic confusingly. Why did he want to apologize to Amy? Was there an argument between them? Or worse, did Sonic tried to get with her and Sally jumped in and ruined their moment? This was the most surprising thing that Tails has ever seen. His best friend, used to be a happy guy, but then began to have low self-esteem. After all of those years, he really has changed. Boy, Sonic was going through a lot. Just then, Sonic snapped his fingers and that caught Tails' attention.

"I got it", the blue hedgehog said.

"What?" the orange fox asked.

"I'm gonna write Amy a letter", Sonic explained. "When I'm done, I want you to give it to her, or leave it at her door."

"Ok", Tails nodded. _"Hm, I wonder what happened last night."_

Around 4:30 p.m., Cream got off the bus as it reached in front of Emerald Hotel. She said goodbye to all of her friends and ran inside. Before she went to the elevator, she stopped. She saw a familiar orange fox that was standing at the front desk waiting for an employee to help him out. It was actually Tails! And man, did he look good as a teenager! Cream began to have hearts in her eyes as she starred in deep awe. The orange fox wore a red hoodie along with a pair of brown pants, and matching tennis shoes. He crossed his arms as he began to feel impatient. Just to get a better look at his face, Cream decided to walk to him.

"Tails, hi!" Cream waved as she approached him.

"Hm?" Tails looked back but then gasped. "Oh, god", he said to himself as he turned away with a blush. "Um, hey, what's up?"

"Nothing", Cream smiled as she slyly studied his looks. "What brings you here?"

"Well", Tails turned around. "I have a letter here for Amy", he held up a clean white envelope.

"For…Amy?" Cream began to feel jealous.

"It's nothing personal, I promise", Tails rubbed the back of his head with his left hand. "Besides, I'm not a messenger boy. I'm only a deliverer boy."

"Then who wrote it?" Cream asked curiously.

"Well, promise me that you won't tell Amy, ok?" Tails said.

"Ok", the rabbit gave him a peace sign. "Cross my heart, hope to die."

"Well…it's from Sonic", the fox sighed slowly.

"Oh…" Cream lowered her head. "I see."

"Wait, you know?" Tails asked with a few blinks. "What happened to him the other night?"

"Don't tell Sonic or Amy that I told you this", Cream began. "Last night, Sonic came out of nowhere as Amy walked out to go on her date. They kept on talking, but then suddenly, he grabbed her and kissed her. Course, I heard the whole thing as I stood at the door. But a minute later, I heard a little bit of yelling and then Amy ran off. I think it was Shadow, because he sounded pretty angry."

"Who's Shadow?" Tails asked.

"Amy's boyfriend, I guess", Cream shrugged her shoulders.

"Whoa", Tails blinked with shock.

"But then, I could barely hear Sonic crying", Cream looked down at the floor sadly. "Over and over, I heard him saying 'Amy, I'm sorry', 'Amy, please forgive me', 'Amy, I need you', 'Amy, come back to me'."

"Gosh…So that's why he was so depressed when he came back home last night", Tails nodded.

"He did? He's staying at your place?" Cream asked.

"Yeah", Tails nodded with a sigh. "Because, last night when he came home, he kept having tears in his eyes. I asked him if he was ok, but he just shook his head and ran up to the guest room. I thought that it would be disturbing if I checked up on him, so I left him alone…Plus, he kept saying 'Amy, I'm sorry', 'Please forgive me' and 'I love you' when I checked on him earlier today."

"Hmm", Cream folded her arms.

Both of them felt sad for Sonic. And here they thought that they would never see their old friends going through so much drama right now. But Cream didn't know that he was staying at Tails' place. What happened to him and Sal? Did they break up? If Amy read the letter, what was she going to do or say? There was no other choice. Sonic and Amy have known each other for so long and their friendship was falling apart! So it was up to Tails and Cream to do something about it. Because they did not want their friends to hate each other. Not now when they've been through a lot too.

"I'll give Amy the letter", Cream held out her hand.

"Ok", Tails handed her the envelope. "Meanwhile, I'll try to talk to Sonic."

"Hm", Cream nodded and then walked to the elevator.

"_Good luck",_ Tails thought as he watched her.

Near seven in the evening, Shadow and Amy were walking down the hallway to find her room. They've been gone all day and spent so much time together. Not only that, but they haven't said or thought a damn thing about Sonic. Just then, they reached up to room 206. Amy sighed sadly. She didn't want the day to end with her and Shadow. But still, he had to go to work for a night shift and he might need a break in the morning. So she had to wait until their next date.

"Man, our day went by fast", Amy turned to Shadow with a small smile.

"Yeah", Shadow rubbed the back of his head. "I wish that it didn't have to end so soon. Stupid job…"

"Don't worry", Amy wrapped her arms around his neck. "One day, we'll make a billion dollars so that way we won't have to work anymore."

"And then we'll be together forever, right?" Shadow wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Yeah", Amy nodded.

Just then, they began to share their goodbye kiss. But suddenly, it didn't feel like a farewell kiss. It was like the same kiss as they shared just last night. Oh, boy, there they go again! Because Amy couldn't reach her purse, she knocked the door behind her as loud as she could. Unwarily, Shadow pinned her to the door slightly as she moaned a little. Cream got off of the couch and walked to the door. She stopped as she heard some strange noises.

"Um, who's there?" she asked awkwardly.

"Cream…open…the door…" Amy panted for air, but kept having her lips taken away by Shadow's.

"Ok…" Cream opened the door slowly.

Unexpectedly, the door opened widely and she jumped back. Then Amy walked in backwards as Shadow walked forward. Cream covered her lips as she watched them make out wildly. Formerly, the two hedgehogs walked all the way back until they got on the couch. They giggled as Amy laid back as Shadow got on top of her. It was hard to believe that they were making out in front of Cream. As they continued, Shadow began to unzip Amy's dress as she slightly removed his jacket.

"Ahem!" Cream placed her hands on her hips.

"Aah!" the two hedgehogs yelped as they fell off the couch.

Cream blinked twice as she sweatdropped. Geez, that was rude of her! If only she could've left them alone, but not today! Both Shadow and Amy rubbed their heads after they fell on the carpet floor. Then afterwards, the black hedgehog got up, put his jacket back on, and then brushed the dust off of his clothes. As for Amy, she zipped her dress back up and swift her eyes from side to side.

"Um, hey", Shadow looked away from Cream as his cheeks glowed red. "You didn't see the whole thing, did ya?"

"I'm starting to wish that I didn't", the rabbit rolled her eyes to the ceiling. _"Lucky girl."_

"Yeah, well, um…my bad", Shadow rubbed the back of his head. "Um…See ya!"

Within the blink of an eye, he zipped out of the room quickly so he wouldn't feel more embarrassed. Once that he was gone, Cream closed the door and looked at Amy. The pink hedgehog chuckled nervously as she blushed. Although, she was starting to get irritated with these intrusions. First Espio had to ruin their moments, and now Cream! However, it was pretty much a good thing that she stopped them before they could've 'done it' again this time. Amy got up and rubbed the back of her head.

"Um…" she spoke shyly.

"Niiice", Cream winked as she gave her a big thumb's up.

"Well, don't chu do that at school ok?" Amy waved her finger no.

"Yeah, right", Cream scoffed. "I'm guessing that you spent the night at Shadow's right?"

"Yeah, you can say that", Amy shrugged her shoulders.

**"REALLLLYYYY?"** Cream asked as she gave her an evil smirk.

"Heck, it's not what you think we did…well, we did…not while we were….well, we were in our underwear…oh, darn it", Amy tried to explain shyly with as her face reddened with a blush.

"Anyway, I got a letter for you", Cream held up an envelope in her hand.

"Let me see", Amy walked to her and took the letter away from her nicely.

Anxiously, she opened the envelope. She thought that it was a surprising romantic note from Shadow, but it wasn't. It was the complete opposite. Cream gulped as she watched Amy's eyes glared at the letter with a little bit of anger. Amy read the letter and it said:

_Dear, Amy._

_Look I'm sorry for what happened the other night. It's just that, I couldn't stop thinking about you. Every time I watch the news, I get these chills. Just thinking of you on this case is starting to scare me. I'm just so terrified that I might lose you. So that's one of the reasons why I came by last night. I needed to see if you were well, I needed to see your beautiful face that envies my soul. And, I wanted to tell you that I'm falling in love with you. But I can see now that you're with someone else. I hope that I didn't make you guys split up or anything. Gosh, I was darn stupid to kiss you like that. Well, you have your reasons to be mad at me. But I still love you with all of my heart. If you want, then we can always be friends. And if it's ok, then me, you, Tails, Cream, and our other old friends can get together and have a friendly reunion._

_Love, Sonic_

_P.S., Take care of yourself._

After Amy read the letter, her eyes widened in shock. Maybe Sonic was falling in love with her! But it's so strange that he would write such a letter like that. And what about Sally? Are they not together anymore? Even though he took his time to make an apology to Amy, she didn't really want to think about him. After all, she was already happy with Shadow until he ruined the moment. Even so, she didn't really want to get mad at Sonic. Still, she didn't want to think about it. She gave the note back to Cream and she slowly took it.

"Who gave it to you?" Amy asked calmly.

"Tails did", Cream said. "He told me that Sonic is hanging out over there."

"Hmm", Amy pondered for a minute. "I have to talk to him."

"Why?" Cream blinked twice.

"Because, I can't take it any longer", Amy shook her head slowly. "I'm going to tell him that I'll forgive him, but I'll try to forget him. And that he needs to leave me alone."

"Are you serious about that?" Cream gasped surprisingly.

"It's the only way that I can be happy with Shadow", Amy replied darkly. "It's the only way…"

To Be Continued…


	51. Chapter 51:Update from Sal

Ch.51: Update from Sal

"You sure about that?" Cream asked.

"Throw it away", Amy answered coldly. "I don't want to see it anymore."

Cream sighed as she looked down on the floor. The note that she gave Amy was from Sonic. She could tell that she wasn't happy to read it. But now, she wants her to throw it away! Even right in front of her face! Cream never thought that Amy would turn out to be so mean like that. Instead of giving her some more info on Sonic, Cream turned around, crumbled the letter, and then threw it in the trashcan. She wished that she didn't do that. If Sonic found out about that, it could break his heart even more. Still, that's the new Amy for her. Cream looked back at Amy who took a seat on the couch.

"Amy…" she looked at her sadly.

"It's the only way", Amy replied softly.

"_Oh, Amy",_ Cream thought as she had a hand under her chin. _"Will you ever find it in your heart to forgive him and still accept him as your friend?"_

The next early afternoon, Amy woke up from the couch. As of today, she has changed a lot. First, she finally gets the man of her dreams, and then she suddenly becomes a mean young lady. Speaking of mean, what about Sally? What happened between her and Sonic? Something told Amy that she had to talk to Sally in order to get some info on those two. Even though it sounded like a dumb idea, she had to do whatever she could in order to make sure that Sonic doesn't bother her and Shadow again. So that was the only way now. After coming up with that plan, Amy put on some new clothes and left the room.

A couple of hours later, Amy made it to a huge mansion. The main color was white, with badge window sheds and the front door was white also. Also, the front garden was filled with half dead roses and tulips that were losing their colors. With the help of the internet, Amy was able to find Sonic's mansion. If what Cream said was true, then she had to find out why they broke up and how to get them back together. Nether less, Amy got out of her car and walked up to the front door. She looked down at the blue fuzzy door mat that read _'Welcome'_ in cursive letters. Releasing a sigh, Amy knocked on the door.

Suddenly, Sally opened the door angrily. And man, did she look pissed! All she had on was a red blouse that was open, had a white tanktop on, thankfully, a very short jeaned skirt, and had on her green house shoes. Her hair was a complete mess because it was flat and had a lot of split ends. Between her lips, she had a cigarette that was halfway gone.

"What do you want?" Sally yelled impatiently. "Wait, Amy!?"

"Holy shi-I mean, uh, hiya, Sal", Amy waved sarcastically and nervously.

(Amy's P.O.V.):

_Good God! What the hell happened to her!? Well, it seemed that she turned from a bitch to a super bitch. And the inside of that mansion looked a mess. I could see some empty pizza boxes, some ants crawling all over the floor, and lots of unfinished junkfood all over the place. But I focused more on Sal. She looked terrible. I guess Cream was right that Sonic was hanging out over Tails' place. Because, man, the place looked trashed up! I mean, did Sonic leave her because they started to live a 'Whitney Houston-&-Bobby Brown-Crackhouse-Life? Or did she become another crack-headed Whitney Houston? Hmm… or maybe both…? (P.O.V. ends)_

"What the hell do you want?" Sally asked rudely.

"Um…So…how's life?" Amy asked as nice as she could.

"Not too bad until you came up to my doorstep", the Acorn girl answered coldly and took a puff of her cigarette.

"Uh-huh…" Amy nodded. _"Whatever you do Ames, don't attack her. You're only here to talk",_ she thought bravely. "Say, what happened to you?"

"Oh, nothing, really", Sally crossed her arms. "I'm just taking over this place in my own way now."

"Um…Where's Sonic?" Amy asked with a sweatdrop.

"He ain't here no more", Sally scoffed. "We broke up sometime ago."

"Whoa", Amy widened her eyes. _"Great",_ she condemned in thought. _"I guess I gave Sonic too much advice for him. Now look what he's done. Well, I kinda screwed up too."_

"Why, is there a problem?" Sally asked suspiciously.

"Well, no, not really", Amy rubbed the back of her head. "But I've heard from my other friends that he's been really depressed for a while."

"Cha", Sally jeered sarcastically. "That man needs to grow up. I mean, crying isn't gonna get him far."

"Yeah, that's true", Amy agreed surprisingly. "Any ideas on why he left?"

"Probably because I was too much for him", Sally said and took another puff of her cigarette. "I mean, he has a mind of Confucius."

"Huh…" Amy blinked twice. "So there's no way that you too are getting back together?"

"No way. I don't need him", Sally rolled her shoulders. "Besides, I found a new man of my dreams."

"Heck, good for you", Amy complemented. "Me too."

"Oh, really?" Sally starred at her heatedly.

Both of them looked at each other with rage. They never thought that they would talk about the same guy. Not to mention that they didn't love him anymore. Amy didn't really care about Sal's new boyfriend, really. She just didn't like the girl. As for Sally, she had a little feeling that it was Amy's entire fault that Sonic left her. And she also wondered about her new man. Lightning appeared in their eyes as they continued to stare with hatred. Suddenly, an argument began.

"Well, at least my man makes money!" Sally protested.

"At least 'my man' makes me happy!" Amy scolded.

"At least **MY MAN** knows how to make money", Sally snapped her fingers.

"Shoot, at least my man **KNOWS** how to make love!" Amy mocked as she snapped her fingers harder.

"Humph!" both the girls turned their backs at each other.

As Amy stomped to her car, Sally walked back inside and slammed the door. Now they won't be able to talk to each other apparently. However, it was a good thing that Sal told Amy all of the info. Still, Amy couldn't stand her. If she could go back, she would've punched her in the face! Rest assured, she didn't. Instead, she got in her car, growled angrily, and began to pull her hair.

"**GRR, I HATE THAT GIRL!"** the pink hedgehog pouted.

"**UGH, I CAN'T STAND THAT GIRL!"** Sally hollered to the ceiling.

"**SHE'S SUCH A BITCH!"**

"**MAN, I CAN'T STAND THAT HO!"**

Finally, Amy relaxed herself. Since she knows what happened, she can leave the retched place now. Now Amy had to go back home and think of what to say to Sonic. Hopefully, she wouldn't say anything mean to him. After all, he didn't say anything mean to her when she tried to win him back a long time ago. For now, she had to think. Moments later, Amy buckled up and left the place.

Sally watched as she looked out the window. She was glad that she was gone. Lucky for them that they didn't get into a huge fight. Even so, Sally began to have suspicions. Just before she could've said something, the telephone rang. She gasped as she turned around and ran to the couch. Aggressively, she sat on it and answered the phone.

**"WHAT?!"** Sally hollered angrily. "Oh, hey, I'm sorry", she said calmly and sweetly. "…Naw, that stupid bitch Amy left my house, thank God…Yeah…Ok…Great, because I can't wait to see you again…" she laid on the couch softly.

"And I can't wait to see you", a man's voice replied nicely in an evil voice.

Just then, a smirk appeared on Sally's face…

To Be Continued…


	52. Chapter 52:Reunion

Ch.52: Reunion

The next afternoon, a plane landed at the Station Square airport. After the passengers left, they went inside the humongous building. Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat walked out of the front of the airport building after getting through some huge crowds. The married couple was seen with huge rainbow designed sombreros on their heads and had T-shirts that had the country Mexico on the center of them. Silver took a deep breath as he sat down his two suitcases.

"Hello, Station Square!" he exhaled happily. "Man, it's good to be back!"

"I know", Blaze looked around the place. "Gosh, this place hasn't changed a while. How long we were gone again, love?"

"Um…Almost for 4 weeks?" Silver opened his eyes confusingly.

"Oh, well", Blaze shrugged her shoulders. "Let's just get a cab and go home."

"Yes, we shall", Silver picked up his suitcases with a smile on his face.

Sometime later, the two made it back to their nice looking house. It was lavender colored with some pink on the window sheds and on the front door. After the cab left, Silver took another deep breath.

"Home sweet home!" he opened his arms, even though his suitcases were kind of heavy for him.

"My, this place hasn't changed a bit", Blaze smiled. "Shall we go inside?"

"Yes, indeed", Silver sat his luggage's down and searched his pockets.

Suddenly, they heard some loud booming sounds. Actually, they could feel the vibrations of those sounds! Silver and Blaze fell to the ground as they bounced up and down on the ground. They screamed in fear as they tried to get back up to their feet. Thanks to Silver's Psychokinetic powers, he was able to stop him and Blaze from bouncing everywhere. Then he used the powers and stood them up to their feet. Both of them looked around as their bags hopped up and down in mid air.

"Where is all of that noise coming from?" Silver asked.

"Um…" Blaze pointed to a red house with white windows next door to theirs. "There?"

"Huh", Silver blinked twice. "Let's go and see who it is."

Slowly, he and Blaze began to walk to the red house. Due to the booming sounds, it was bouncing up and down, possibly causing an earthquake. As the two came up to the white front door, they stopped. Silver placed an ear on the door gently. The sounds coming from the house was actually music. Lots of loud music. He couldn't really understand what the type of music was, because the volume was too loud. Blaze starred at the jumping house with a sweatdrop falling down from her right cheek. Who in the world would play their music up so loud like that? With no other choice, Silver knocked on the door. He tried again, only this time, he knocked harder with all of his might. Apparently, whoever lived in the house didn't hear him. Blaze covered her ears since she couldn't take it any longer. Silver yelled angrily as he kicked and pounded the door as hard as he could. He just wants that music down right now! Not only that, but a few other neighbors started to panic due to the shaking streets across their homes.

Inside the living room, a huge stereo was playing some loud hip-hop music. Knuckles and Rogue were dancing wildly as they enjoyed the song. They didn't even notice that all of their furniture was leaping up and down all over the floor! Also, they didn't even hear the broken glasses from their shattered vases and pictures in a few nearby rooms. Knuckles did a lot of 'OH!' calls as Rouge made a lot of 'AY!' shouts. Strangely, they didn't even know that they were causing too much distraction to their neighbors.

_**(Chorus):**__**  
**__**(DMX)**__**  
Y'all gon' make me lose my mind up in HERE, up in here  
Y'all gon' make me go all out up in here, up in here  
Y'all gon' make me act a FOOL up in HERE, up in here  
Y'all gon' make me lose my cool up in here, up in here**_

_**(Repeats multiple times)**_

Back outside, Silver continued to knock on the door hardly in anger. Blaze plugged up her ears so she wouldn't go deaf. Suddenly, Silver thought of an idea. He focused on his psychic powers on the doorknob from the inside. Successfully, he unlocked the door and opened it. He then kicked the door opened and his jaws dropped. In the center of the room, he saw two familiar creatures dancing to the loud background music. Blaze plugged in her ears tighter because the music was getting louder now that the door was open. Silver covered his ears as he growled furiously. With his'neighbors' distracted, he was able to sneak to the stereo as quietly as he could. Gently, he turned off the huge stereo and Rouge and Knuckles stopped dancing.

"Hey, what happened to our stereo?" the white bat looked around curiously.

"Hey, man", the red echidna pointed at the white hedgehog rudely. "Don't hate da playa, hate da game."

"**DID YOU NOT REALIZE HOW LOUD THAT MUSIC WAS!?"** Silver hollered at the two creatures as loud as he could.

"Silver?" Rouge rubbed her eyes.

"Oh, snap, wazzup, homie!" Knuckles gave Silver a tight friendly hug.

"Knuckles, hi-Too tight!" the white hedgehog gasped for air.

"My bad, my bad", the red echidna released Silver and he fell back.

"Ok…" Blaze stepped inside the messy house.

"Oh, Blaze, hi!" Rouge waved.

"Wat it do, homegirl!" Knuckles waved also.

"Um…What?" Blaze blinked twice.

"So wat brings ya here, huh?" Knuckles asked with a smile on his face. "And where'd you get your gear?"

"My gear?" Blaze sweatdropped.

"Those clothes that you and Silver have on", Rouge corrected.

"Oh, we just came back from Mexico for our honeymoon", the purple cat explained nicely. "It was beautiful there. Wasn't it, love?" she turned to her husband.

"Yes", Silver got up slowly in pain. "It was wonderful."

"Ya were gone for 'bout a month, yo", Knuckles scratched his head.

"Um, yeah…" Silver sweatdropped, since he could barely understand what the hell he just said.

"Say, I got an idea", Rouge smiled with joy. "Let's go see our other friends! I mean, it'll be like a reunion."

"A family reunion!" Knuckles cheered as he threw his hands up in the air.

"You mean a 'friendly' reunion", Silver sweatdropped. "Anyway, do you know where they live?"

"Er…" Knuckles and Rouge pondered. "Nope."

"How nice", Silver said sarcastically with a sweatdrop.

"Wait, I think I remember where Amy stays at", Rouge suddenly remembered.

"Say, I got an idea, ya's!" Knuckles held up a fist. "Let's invite all of our friends to celebrate our reunion together!"

"Where at?" Blaze asked.

"Right here!" Knuckles suggested.

"Ohh", Blaze sweatdropped.

"Yeah", Rouge nodded. "We can write the invitations, send them to our friends, and then they'll be here to bring down the house!"

"Don't chu think that you already did that?" Silver asked with a sweatdrop.

"Well, they can help us next time", Knuckles looked at him. "Let's see…Let's celebrate on…Friday?"

"Good idea!" the two women nodded.

"Ok, what the heck", Silver shrugged his shoulders.

"Good", Knuckles nodded. "So who's gonna write da invitations?"

"You will", Silver glared at him suspiciously. "Anyway, I guess I'll get the food."

"Heck, I got da music", Rouge raised her hand.

"And I'll get the decorations", Blaze clapped her hands together. "This is going to be exciting."

"_Hopefully",_ Silver thought to himself.

A few days later, the four got the house ready for the party. Knuckles was sent to give out the invitations as Silver and Blaze cooked the food. Rouge began to search through her CD's to play for the party. The decorations were already set along wtih some videogames and a karaoke machine.

First, Knuckles stopped by at the Chaotix's agency. He knocked on the door and hollered if anyonre was home. A moment later, a beautiful Latin woman opened the door and looked at him oddly.

"Whoa..." Knuckles studied her looks. "Wat it do, shortie?"

"Erm", the Latin female sweatdropped. "Can I help you?"

"Is da Chaotix home at dis time?" Knuckles asked nciely.

"They're upstairs, why?" the Latin woman asked.

"Can you give dis to dem?" Knuckles gave her the invitation. "You can come too, if ye like."

"Ok...For what?" the Latin female looked at the envelope oddly.

"Peace!" Knuckles zipped away from the house.

Second, he took short train ride to the Mystic Ruins. After he got off the train, he took a look around. He hasn't been there as long as he could remember. He used to live at Angel Island, where he was a guardian of the Master Emerald. Just returning to his old home somehow cheered him up. After seeing some old memories, the red echidna searched around for Tails' workshop. Luckily, he found the same wooden house as it stood in the same place long ago. He knocked on the door as hard as he could.

Tails opened the door and then took a look at him. At first he sweatdropped, but then he was able to recognize him through his gangster-like clothes.

"Knuckles?" the orange fox blinked.

"Wazzup homie!" the red echidna hugged him tightly.

"Too tight, too tight!" Tails coughed for air.

"My bad, man, my bad", Knuckles released him. "Anyway, I have an invitation for ya."

"For what?" Tails asked.

"For a friendly reunion, homeboy", Knuckles held up an envelope. "It has all of da directions and stuff. If you see or know where Sonic is, tell 'im he's invited too."

"Ok", Tails nodded with joy. "Sounds fun."

"To da next stop!" Knuckles said as he took off from the house.

Tails shook his head slowly. He never thought that another old best friend would change so much after all of those years. However, he had to accept what he has become, whether he liked it or not. He closed the door and went to the living room. Sonic was louching on the couch as he watched some classic horror movie on TV. He was bored. Not only that, but he was starting to calm down from his depression after what happened between him and Amy. Before long, Tails tapped him on the head from behind.

"What's up?" Sonic looked back.

"Knuckles just came by", Tails held up an envelope. "We've been invitated to a friendly reunion party."

"Cool, when?" Sonic asked nicely.

"Hmm", Tails opened the invitation and looked at it. "Tonight at 8:00 sharp."

"Well, we got plenty of time", Sonic looked at his watch. "It's only 5:00 right now."

"We might as well get ready right now before we forget on the last minute", Tails suggested.

"Yeah", Sonic nodded with agreement. _"I wonder if Amy's going to be there. It'll be great if she came along." _he thought curiously.

To Be Continued…


	53. Chapter 53:A Party without Her

Ch.53: A Party without Her

Meanwhile, at Amy's hotel room, she and Cream were sitting on the couch watching TV again. This time, they were watching a crazed sci-fi movie called 'Godzilla'. All of the silence between them interrupted when the telephone rang. Amy rushed to the phone and answered it. Cream could tell who it was. Yep, it was Shadow again. Gosh, no one has ever thought that Amy could change so much. Actually, it was pretty strange to be honest. As Amy continued to talk on the phone sweetly, she went into her bedroom and locked it.

"_Man",_ Cream shook her head. _"First, she doesn't have time for a boyfriend. Then she meets Shadow, hangs out with him, spends the night with him, and then, WOW. She's changed a lot. Not only that, but she hasn't talked to anyone besides him for a while. She hasn't talked to the Chaotix, or me, and still hasn't spoken to Sonic. This is getting odd…"_

Minutes later, Amy came out of the bedroom in some new clothes. She had on a red halter top with strings in the back, long blue jeans, and a pair of red sandals. On her back, she had a small pink backpack that had her pajamas in it. Her hair was done with a bun in the back with a red ribbon in it. This time, she didn't put on any make up.

"Now where are you going?" Cream asked with a shrug.

"Well, Shadow told me to get a swimsuit so…I guess we're going swimming", Amy rubbed the back of her head. "I mean, I have it under these clothes right now."

"Uh-huh", Cream nodded.

"What's the matter?" Amy asked curiously.

"Well, Amy…you've changed", Cream said. "I mean, I don't think that I know you anymore."

"Wha-what are you talking about?" Amy crossed her arms.

"Um…Ever since you met Shadow, well…You totally became a different person", Cream explained nervously.

"Well, once you get love, then love will give back", Amy looked away.

"Hmm", Cream lowered her head. "I see. Well, I'm glad that you're happy."

"Thank you", Amy responded unfriendly.

Both of them were silent. Things were starting to change between them. They haven't spoken to each other often now, only to say hi and goodnight. It was starting to get worse all of the sudden. Was their friendship going to end? Cream didn't want Amy to be mad at her. All she wants to do is to look after her as a friend. Amy was supposed to do the same thing, until now. So its official, Amy has completely changed.

After a moment of silence, Amy left the room as Cream continued to watch TV. She stomped down the hallway until she bumped into someone. She looked up and it was Shadow. He had on a white tanktop shirt, light blue jeans, and black tennis shoes. At first, Amy gave him a strange look on her face. Then she shook her head and hugged him.

"What's wrong?" Shadow asked.

"Nothing", Amy said. "It's just that Cream thinks that I'm wasting my time being with you."

"Hmph", Shadow muffled as he narrowed his eyebrows. "She's just jealous."

"I know", Amy shrugged her shoulders. "So, um…What're we going to do?" she looked up at him cheerfully.

"Hmm…Just going to a few places", Shadow wrapped his arms around her neck smoothly with a smile. "Let's go."

"Cool", Amy nodded.

Slightly, they took each others hands and left the hotel. Later on, Knuckles stopped and panted as he reached Emerald Hotel. During his run, he asked a few people for directions, but all he received were sweatdrop looks on their faces. So he decided to find the place in his own way. He looked at his watch and then gasped. It was about 7:30, only thirty minutes before the party starts! If he ends up late, he might miss something. Figuring that out, Knuckles rushed inside and made it to the front desk. He panted hardly as he touched the bell slightly. A butler walked up to him and gave him an odd look on his face.

"Um, can I help you?" he asked in a British accent.

"Do you…know…where…Amy Rose…stays at?" Knuckles asked as he continued to pant.

"Erm, room 206", the butler looked at the list of residents in a book.

"Thank you", Knuckles took off to the elevator weakly on his feet.

Back up in room 206, Cream was still watching TV on the couch. With the commercials on, she began to think. Since when did Amy become so mean? In fact, why would she waste her time to get a boyfriend? Also, why during a serious case!? When Amy's with her friends, she seems to be normal. But after Shadow came along, she suddenly became different. Even though Cream tried to explain to her, she didn't want to go to further detail to make her angry. So that was close for her. Suddenly, a loud knock was heard on the door. Cream got up and walked to the door.

"Who is it?" Cream asked calmly.

"Amy…Dis is Knuckles", a familiar voice answered with pant's.

"Knuckles?" Cream blinked as she opened the door. "What in the world?" she asked after taking a look at the new Knuckles.

"Cream!?" the red echidna rubbed his eyes in shock. "Oh, snap, wat it do, shortie!" he pulled her in a tight hug.

"Too tight, too tight!" Cream gasped for air as her cheeks glowed blue.

"My bad, my bad", Knuckles released her and she panted hardly. "Anyways, where's Ames?"

"Oh…" Cream looked away. "She's gone."

"Fashizzle?" Knuckles blinked twice. "Gone where?"

"On a date", Cream replied.

"Wit who?" Knuckles asked suspiciously.

"With Shadow", Cream sighed as she crossed her arms.

"…" Knuckles pondered as he tried to remember him. "Oh…I should've figured that they would become a couple", he nodded slyly.

"Yeah, well, they are", Cream answered in an unhappy tone.

"Anywayz", Knuckles smiled. "There's a party going on at my place in a little while. Think you wanna come?"

"Really?" Cream looked at him in shock. "Tonight?"

"Yeah, you wanna come or not?" Knuckles shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess I'll go", Cream put on her school shoes.

"Are you sure you want to go in your school uniform?" Knuckles asked with a sweatdrop.

"I don't mind", Cream said as she pulled out her room key and then closed the door.

"Coolies!" Knuckles grabbed her hand. "Let's parrrrrrtyyyyyyy!!!" he dashed down the hallway as Cream held on to his right hand.

Sometime after eight o'clock, a lot of guests arrived at Rouge's house. The living room was clean this time as the stereo played some hip-hop music again. Most of the guests sat and chat as a few danced to the song. On the floor was some balloons, some streamers in the ceiling, and the food table was set next to the karaoke machine. Rouge paced back and forth as she waited for Knuckles to get back. He hasn't contacted her about who was coming to the party. Not only that, she feared that he might get lost finding where their old friends lived at right now. Blaze looked at her worriedly as Silver looked at his watch. It was 8:30. They began to worry about Knuckles also. Did something happen to him?

_**(BGM plays 'Come to Me' by Diddy and Nicole Scherzinger)**_

_**((Nicole (Diddy))**__**  
It's Bad Boy bitch  
Do it do it do it do it  
Do it do it do it do it  
(It feels good to be back, I missed ya)  
Relax your mind, let your conscience be free  
And I roll with the sounds of BBE  
Do it do it do it do it  
Do it do it do it do it  
(You know what time it is)  
(Report to the dance floor)  
It's bad boy bitch  
(Talk to 'em)**_

"Where is he?" Rouge asked herself as she looked around for a clock.

"Is everything ok?" Mina Mongoose asked as she tapped her on the shoulder.

"I just don't see Knuckles anywhere", Rouge continued to look around. "He's never late for a party."

Finally, Knuckles and Cream reached up to the doorway. They panted in exhaustion as they dropped to their knees. All of that running was starting to kill their feet right now. Rouge gasped as she noticed that her fiancée returned. She ran to him as Mina watched. Knuckles got up and stretched his arms as Cream continued to pant.

"**KNUXIE!"** Rouge exclaimed happily as she came up to him and hugged him tightly. **"YOU'RE HERE!"**

"Babe! Too tight!" Knuckles gasped for air as his face started turning purple.

"Sorry, hun", Rouge released him and he fell back. "Cream, you made it!" she turned to the peach rabbit.

"Yep, I sure did", Cream nodded.

"Come on", Rouge took her left hand. "I'll introduce you to some old friends."

"Ok", Cream smiled.

Rouge and Cream walked to a small group of girls as they left Knuckles behind. However, he didn't mind. He got up, brushed the dust off of his clothes, and then did a strange pimp walk to a different crowd. Apparently, a few of the other guys' sweatdropped, since they thought that he looked ridiculous in those clothes. Still, they kept themselves away from him.

_**(Chorus – Nicole): **__**  
I'm here when will you make your move?  
I see you, eyeing me, I want you, why don't you?  
Come to me, I can be, what you need, uh baby  
I'm standing, been waiting, I'm yearning, I'm burning  
Get to know me, come and get to know me  
Come to show me, that you wanna know me**_

A few minutes later, Sonic and Tails made it to the place. They walked inside and saw a lot of old friends from the past. The guests were Silver the Hedgehog, Blaze the Cat, Mina Mongoose, Bunnie Rabbot, Rotor the Walrus, Antoine D'Coolette the coyote, Tikal the Echidna, Jet the Hawk, Wave the Swallow, Storm the Albatross, Big the Cat, Ray the Squirrel, Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile, Charmy Bee, Mighty the Armadillo, Cosmo, Cream the Rabbit, and a few humans that came along with the Chaotix. Sonic and Tails were surprised that Knuckles invited everyone in one day. With no other choice, they went inside. After they walk inside, some of the guests saw Sonic and called out for him. A few others only waved at him.

"Sonic, wasabi!!" Knuckles gave Sonic another squeezy hug.

"Knuckles stop-Too tight!" Sonic squealed for air.

"Sorry, my bad", Knuckles released him and Sonic caught his fall. "Tails-," he opened his arms to give the fox another big hug.

"Um, hi", Tails hid behind Sonic. "No thank you."

"Hater", Knuckles walked away from him and Sonic.

"Phew", Tails sighed in relief.

"This is ridiculous", Espio said as he took a seat on a chair.

"Oh, c'mon, it's not all that bad", Mighty said, who was starting to dance.

"Yeah, but why did you bring THEM with us?" Vector pointed at Lucia, Ana, Melina, Shin, and Shin's wife rudely.

"There's plenty of good reasons why I brought them along with me", Espio spoke back.

Tails looked around as he noticed a lot of people dancing in the middle of the room. At an empty table, he saw Cosmo sitting by herself. It looked like she was waiting to see someone. At first, Tails wanted to approach her, but he couldn't. They broke up weeks ago, and he's not sure if he could talk to her again. Even though he hasn't thought about their break up, it was so hard to see her again. After all, it was her decision to end their relationship, not his. Still, he didn't like to see her all alone over there.

As for Sonic, he looked around also. Sure he was glad to see his old friends and rivals again, but there was someone missing. And that was Amy. He saw Cream talking to Rouge, Blaze, and Mina, but how come Amy didn't show up? He had to ask where she was, because he needed to talk to her again. Before he took a step forward, a voice suddenly said:

"Well, well. If it isn't Sonic the Hedgehog."

The blue hedgehog looked over to his right. He saw the Babylon Rogues, who were all dressed in hoodies and jeans. The voice came from Jet the Hawk, one of his greatest rivals of all time. They couldn't forget the time when they raced each other at the Ex World Grand Prix. To Sonic, Jet hasn't changed at all.

"Jet", Sonic crossed his arms with a smirk. "Long time no see."

"As to you, slowpoke", Jet chuckled sarcastically.

"Grr", Sonic had flames in his eyes.

"Argh", Jet had flames in his eyes also.

"Hey, guys", Wave, a purple swallow stepped in. "We're supposed to have a friendly reunion. Not a friendly brawl."

"Fine", Jet and Sonic said in union. "Hmph!" they looked away form each other and walked off.

_**(Diddy):**__  
**You know who it is, I'm back in the building  
Security strapped, still stacking a million  
It's doubt with the stallion, somethin' Italian  
Or maybe Puerto Rican, you can catch me in Paris  
I'm in it to win it but willing to carry  
The game, if you think I'm not look at the carats  
I buck clean about in a Phantom  
The people go screaming like an opera anthem  
I did it before, do it again  
I got to blow, gotta to spin  
Lies before, cool as the wind  
Got hits go back like juice and gin  
Shine the best and diamond necklace  
My extravagant taste, the style perplexes  
They know I'm the ish, they wanna get next  
That's why she had to fit cause she wanted to get next**_

After meeting one of his old rivals, Sonic walked pass the dancers carefully as he sad excuse me a few times. He gave a few girl friends hugs and gave some guy friends handshakes and peace signs. However, he had to ask Cream where Amy was. Somehow, he felt like the party was going to be boring without her. Finally, he reached up to Cream, who was still talking to Rouge, Blaze, and Mina. He tapped on Cream's shoulder and she turned around to him.

"Hey", Sonic waved.

"Oh, my gosh!" Mina gasped happily. "You've grown!" she gave Sonic a small hug.

"How's life?" Blaze asked.

"It's ok", Sonic shrugged his shoulders. "And what about you ladies?"

"Fine", Rouge, Blaze, and Mina gave him a cheerful thumb's up.

_**(Chorus – Nicole): **__**  
I'm here when will you make your move?  
I see you, eyeing me, I want you, why don't you?  
Come to me, I can be, what you need, uh baby  
I'm standing, been waiting, I'm yearning, I'm burning  
Get to know me, come and get to know me  
Come to show me, that you wanna know me**_

"So where's Sally?" Mina asked happily.

"Oh, um…She doesn't feel good", Sonic lied and she totally fell for it. "She wanted to come, but her stomach hurts."

"Now, you two are going to get married, right?" Blaze asked nicely.

"Maybe", Sonic lied again.

"Well, we're glad that you made it", Rouge nodded.

"Hey, is that Knuckles dancing over there?" Blaze pointed.

Sonic and the girls turned to the dance floor and saw Knuckles. As the song continued, he started doing some goofy dancing that he thought were 'hip' enough for the crowd. Apparently, all he received were sweatdropped looks from his old pals. They stopped dancing as Knuckles shouted and continued dancing. Sonic, Mina, Cream, and Blaze sweatdropped too as Rouge giggled. Hopefully, the party wouldn't end so soon because of him. Still, they didn't want to make fun of him. After all, that's how he wanted to change his life, so they all had to accept that. Anyway, Sonic looked back at Cream so he could ask some specific questions.

_**(Diddy (Nicole)):**__**  
Anywhere I appear, they all stop and stare  
Admire your body language speaking loud and clear like  
(I want you to come be with me)  
She be waiting anticipating for oh so long  
Fantasising wild thoughts of me coming on like  
(I'm here when will you make your move)  
She digging my style, my swag, my suede, my swerve  
My way with words, the Boys absurd for sure  
You can't fall 'til my aura called  
I make miracles like I walk on water  
What you want mama order, it's on my tab  
I'm so bad with the cash, I dropped the whole bag  
Where you at girl?**_

"Hey, Cream", the blue hedgehog spoke.

"Yeah?" Cream looked at him.

"Where's Amy?"

"Oh, yeah, I haven't seen her", Mina looked around.

"Is she sick too?" Rouge asked.

"Gosh, I want to see the famous 'Detective Rose' right now", Blaze scanned through the place.

"Well, um…She's on a date", Cream answered.

"A…what?" Sonic blinked.

"Did you say 'a date'!?" Mina turned to her shockingly.

"She has a new boyfriend now?" Blaze asked.

"Yeah", Cream sighed as she shrugged her shoulders.

"What's his name? Have we met him before?" Mina asked curiously.

"Well, his name is Shadow the Hedgehog", Cream explained. "And trust me, he is **REALLY** cute. Actually…**HE IS HOTT!**"

"Ah, lucky girl!" Mina stomped her foot childishly. "I wanna meet him!"

"But didn't Amy know about this party?" Sonic asked.

"She left before Knuckles came by and told me about it", Cream explained again.

"Where are they going?" Sonic asked again.

"Who knows", Cream crossed her arms and looked away.

_**(Chorus – Nicole): **__**  
I'm here when will you make your move?  
I see you, eyeing me, I want you, why don't you?  
Come to me, I can be, what you need, uh baby  
I'm standing, been waiting, I'm yearning, I'm burning  
Get to know me, come and get to know me  
Come to show me, that you wanna know me**_

Sonic widened his eyes in shock. Amy not attending a get together party?! That's never happened before! And he really wanted to see her again. Not just him, everyone else too. Still, he figured that Amy wouldn't talk to him at a short notice. Also, if she brought Shadow along, it would make him feel uncomfortable around him. Plus, he guessed that a lot of girls here would try to get his number or something. Even though he was upset that Amy didn't come, Sonic didn't want to show it. Right now, he had to keep his mind focused on seeing his old friends.

_**(Nicole):**__**  
I'm here right now, can't wait no more no  
You were the one who stole my heart  
Can't you see the wait is over  
I need you to come closer  
Please believe is getting stormy  
You really got me hot**_

_**(Chorus repeats)**_

"Hey, Sonic!" Mighty came up behind Sonic and grabbed his left arm.

"Come get jiggy wit us!" Knuckles appeared and grabbed Sonic's right arm.

"Go on and dance", Mina danced a little.

"Yeah, we want to see your moves", Rouge giggled.

"Ok", Sonic smiled. "Let's dance!"

"WHOO!" Knuckles and the group cheered and rushed to the dance floor.

And so, they went to the middle of the floor and started dancing. Espio stayed with Lucia and Ana just so he could keep an eye on her. Shin and his family stayed too, so they could get to know her. Some of the other guests grabbed some punch and went to the dance floor. Tails danced too, but he couldn't stop starring at the lonely Cosmo. She stood outside of the crowd, fiddled with her fingers nervously. There was no other choice. Tails got through a few others and took Cosmo's right hand.

"Huh?" Cosmo looked up at him.

"Come dance with us", Tails smiled as he pulled her in the dancing floor.

Now that Tails got Cosmo into the dance floor, they started moving around as they enjoyed the beat. It was odd, considering that they haven't talked in a while after their break up. Still, they had to do their best to keep their minds focused on the party. Sonic had to do the same thing, even though he wished to see Amy again.

_**(Diddy and Nicole)**__**  
Do it do it do it do it  
Do it do it do it do it  
Why don't you come to me  
I can be, what you need uh baby  
I'm here, you're here, let's make it happen  
Do it do it do it do it  
Do it do it do it do it  
Relax your mind, let your conscience be free  
And I roll with the sounds of BBE (Bad Boy Entertainment)  
Do it, do it  
You know what this is  
It's Bad Boy bitch  
Press Play!**_

To Be Continued…


	54. Chapter 54:True Love Part 2

Ch.54: True Love Part 2

A couple of hours later, Amy and Shadow walked out of the movie theater. They just got done watching a scary movie called 'Poseidon'. It didn't scare them that much, but the booming vibrations kind of made Amy jumped a few times. However, the movie to them was at an 'OK' level. After they got in the sportscar, they buckled up. Then they sighed happily.

"That was a pretty good movie", Amy stretched out her arms. "What do you want to do now?"

"Well…You wanna come back to my place?" Shadow asked nervously.

"Sure, I don't mind", Amy wrapped an arm around his neck.

"Hm", Shadow smiled and gave her a short kiss on the lips. "Cool."

Amy sighed peacefully as she rested her head on his right shoulder. Shadow smiled still as he turned on the ignition. Afterwards, they left the movie theater. They just couldn't wait to spend another night together. However, what was planned for the both of them?

Almost an hour later, they reached up to Shadow's house. They got out of the car and walked to the door. Amy took her lover's right arm as he wrapped an arm around her waist. Gosh, they were so in love with each other. After they went inside the house, they walked to the couch and took a seat on it.

"Man, I missed this place", Amy sighed.

"I missed you being here", Shadow held her closely. "It's been pretty quiet without you."

"Really?" Amy asked him.

"Of course", Shadow smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

"Well, I missed you too", Amy smiled back.

"Um…Can you do me a favor right quick?" Shadow asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

"What?" Amy asked curiously.

"Do you think that you can give me a massage right quick?" Shadow blushed.

"Huh?" Amy blushed also.

"Well, I've been working a lot lately", Shadow explained. "I mean, if you don't want to-,"

"Heck, I love to!" Amy grabbed him and pulled him down on his stomach.

"Ok, tiger", Shadow giggled. "But first, can you bring down a bottle of massaging oil please?"

"I'm on it", Amy saluted and then rushed upstairs.

As Shadow waited, she went up the stairs to the linen closet next to his bedroom. She opened it and found lots of lotions, men's shampoo, shower gel, and some body wash. For a few seconds, she scanned through the closet until she found the perfect massaging lotion. The brand was called 'Zen Massaging Oil', which it looked like she could find one of those at a local Wal-Mart store. However, it was the best massaging oil that she could find. Nodding with agreement, Amy grabbed the bottle and ran back downstairs. While she ran down the stairs, Shadow took off his shoes and socks. He then turned on a lamp that was on a small table next to him. Then he grabbed a remote and turned on the radio next to the lamp that played some smooth jazz music.

"Ok, I'm back", Amy appeared behind the couch.

"Hold on right quick", Shadow spoke.

Amy blinked twice. Slowly, Shadow took off his white tanktop as he sighed loosely in relief. Just watching all of that began to make Amy blush very red. Not only that, but she was about to squeeze the life out of the large bottle of massaging oil! Nervousness was building up inside of her again. Her heart beated loudly that Shadow could barely hear it. However, he didn't mind it at all. He already figured that Amy was getting nervous right about now. After all, he looked so damn good without a shirt on! Amy was about to faint, but she didn't. Instead, she continued to blush as her body started shaking nervously. Shadow laid down on his stomach and crossed his arms.

"Ready when you are", he spoke.

"Ok…" Amy said shakily as she walked around the couch. "I'm kinda nervous right about now", she sat down next to Shadow.

"It's ok", Shadow replied kindly. "Take your time."

The pink hedgehog gulped. She has never given anyone a massage in her entire life, never. So this was her first time giving somebody a massage. Plus, she was about to try it out on a cute guy! However, he is her boyfriend. So she could develop something new for now. Taking a deep breath, Amy opened the bottle of oil and forced some to go on her palms. She sat the bottle down and stood up. Timidly, she walked to Shadow and took a deep breath. Prepared enough, she rubbed her hands together in order to make the oil smooth. Then she got down on her knees and rested her hands on Shadow's neck. Calmly as she could, she began to massage him as carefully as she could. He moaned loudly as he moved a little.

"Did it hurt?" Amy asked with a small blush.

"Keep going", Shadow replied freely.

"Ok", Amy said and continued.

Continuing to massage him, she began to move her hands to his shoulders. Gently, she gripped her hands on them a few times and relaxed Shadow. He turned his head to the side as he sighed peacefully. Somehow, he felt like he was in heaven again. But more than that, paradise. He could just imagine him and Amy at a beautiful beach in the Bahamas, her giving him a massage as he relaxed. Soon enough, Amy began to reach down to his back slowly and continued to massage him. He moaned again and she started blushing.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were so good at this?" Shadow asked pleasantly.

"Well, this is my first time", Amy replied apprehensively.

"Mm, you're good", Shadow complimented.

Amy nodded and started rubbing his back smoothly and softly as he sighed again. She had no idea that she was that good. Heck, this was her first time doing this. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she should get a part time job at a massaging therapy to make some more money. Even though this was her first time, she seemed to be an expert. Shadow was really enjoying this. He didn't want her to stop, and he definitely didn't want her to leave tonight. He wanted her to stay with her forever and for eternity.

"Lower", Shadow said softly.

"Ok", Amy went down further.

"Ah, yes", Shadow moaned with a sigh.

Amy massaged his lower back area as nicely as she could. But then, she noticed that she was close to his butt area. After noticing that, she blushed completely red. To avoid from embarrassing herself, she started massaging Shadow's back and shoulders all over again. He didn't really mind because he was in peace right now.

"God, you're good", Shadow smiled. "All of that work…paying bills…all of that…too much…"

"Yeah, I pretty much know what you mean", Amy agreed.

"Ah…Ok, you're done", Shadow said.

"Really?" Amy stopped.

"Yep", Shadow sat up and looked at her. "Because it's your turn."

"Really?" Amy asked shyly.

"Mm-hmm", Shadow nodded.

Soon enough, they switched positions. Amy removed her halter top and was seen with a black bikini top on her. Shadow almost squeezed the crap out of the bottle this time, because she looked so good in that bikini top. Readily, Amy laid on her stomach and waited for him to start. Gulping nervously, Shadow put some massaging lotion on his palms, rubbed them together, and then rested them on Amy's shoulders. As he began to massage her, she let out a small moan with pleasure. Now she began to feel the satisfaction from the massage. This time, she imagined them at a beach at Fiji with a sunset beyond the oceans. She felt like she was in heaven, paradise, better yet, in a bed of roses.

"That feels so good", Amy sighed as Shadow began to massage her back heavenly.

"Anything for you, my sweet rose", Shadow said as he started massaging her lower back area.

"Man, this is awesome", Amy sighed happily.

A couple of minutes later, Shadow got done massaging Amy and took a break. He rubbed his hands as Amy stretched out her arms. Moments later, Shadow wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a deep kiss. At that moment, she laid back as he got on top of her. So much passion was building up between them. True that they shared a lot before, but they wanted to share some more with each other. It was because they wanted to be with each other, no one else but each other. In fact, they needed to spend some more time together in order to make their weekends more exciting.

"Hey", Shadow spoke between his kiss with his lover.

"Hm?" Amy opened her eyes and stopped kissing him.

"Stay here right quick", Shadow said as he got off of her. "I'll be back", he went upstairs.

"Hmm…" Amy pondered curiously. _"I wonder what he's planning up there for the two of us",_ she thought to herself.

Fifteen minutes later, Amy waited in the living with the radio off so she could think quietly. She was ready to see what Shadow has planned for the two of them. However, he was taking a little too long for her. She was crazy in love with him and she couldn't wait to see what happens next. But then, Shadow came back downstairs, still shirtless, and had a smile on his face. As Amy turned to him, he picked her up in bridal style and took her upstairs. Firstly, she thought that they were going to his bedroom again, but she was wrong. Shadow stopped as they reached to the door to the bathroom. He put Amy down as she starred at the door curiously.

"What are we doing here?" she asked.

"You'll see", Shadow opened the door.

With the door widely opened, Amy gasped in shock. The ground floored bathroom had badge walls, a clear marble floor, and all of the furniture was white as snow. What mostly caught Amy's attention was the bathtub. It was large, filled with water and bubbles covering it. There were honey scented candles on a table next to the oval-shaped bathtub, along with a basket that had a couple bottles of champaign with two diner cups next to the wooden basket. Also, there were some more strawberry scented rose pedals all over the room and most of them were in the bathtub. And last, there was a radio plugged up on the counter next to the dry sink that began to play a slow romantic R&B song.

_**(BGM plays 'Speechless by Beyonce')**_

"Wow", Amy said in awe.

"You like it?" Shadow asked as he wrapped his arms around her neck. "This is why I told you to wear your swimsuit."

"We're taking a bath together?" Amy asked bashfully.

"Heck, at least in our bathing suits", Shadow giggled.

"Oh", Amy swift her eyes side to side.

_**You've got me  
You've got me  
You've got me  
You've got me speechless**_

"May I?" Shadow whispered softly.

"Huh?" Amy asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Here", Shadow said as his hands went down to Amy's pants slowly.

Amy blushed as her heart pounded anxiously. Coolly, Shadow's hands reached down to the zipper of Amy's jeans. He unzipped them and pulled them down to her feet gently. So now, she was seen in a cute black bikini. As Amy continued to feel queasy, he began to kiss her on the neck lovingly in order to calm down her nervousness. Easily, he wrapped his arms around her stomach and started kissing her on the cheek. A moment later, Amy turned around and started smooching on his lips. Then she unzipped his jeans and he pulled them down. He was then seen in his long red swimming trunks.

_**(Verse 1):**_

_**Where you been baby  
Waited for you all day  
Waited for you to use the key  
That opens my place  
My heart starts trembling  
As I hear your footsteps pace  
Lock opens, doorknob turns  
There appeared your face**_

After a minute of kissing and hugging, Shadow released Amy and looked into her eyes. He then felt her cheeks softly as she starred in awe. After that, he picked her up again in bridal style and walked to the bathtub. Carefully, he got in the bathtub with Amy in his arms. The warm water smoothed their skin as they began to relax. Sparingly, Shadow wrapped his arms around Amy's stomach and began to kiss her on the neck again. His lips were soft and tender, yet they felt good to Amy. It was like his lips were massaging her shoulders passionately. Just then, Amy turned herself to Shadow and began to make out with him sweetly.

_**(Chorus):**_

_**Going outta my head I think I'm loosing all my mind  
Drive me crazy burning candles making love all night  
Feels so strange it feels so crazy to be in your world  
In your arms lost for words  
You've got me!**_

The two hedgehogs continued to kiss until Shadow stopped suddenly. Amy opened her eyes curiously as she starred at him. He was thinking about something. But what would he be thinking about all of the sudden? Was something troubling him? The pink hedgehog blinked as she continued to glare at him with confusion and worried ness.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked.

"Amy?" Shadow held her hands gently. "Do you love me?"

"Well, of course I do", Amy winked cheerfully.

"Hm. Do you think of me?" Shadow asked a different question.

"Yeah", Amy nodded.

"Do you dream of me?"

"Oh, yeah, a lot."

"…Do you want to spend the rest of your life with me?"

"Here?"

"Yeah."

_**You've got me  
You've got me  
You've got me  
You've got me speechless**_

At that moment, Amy was silent. She had no idea that he would ask that kind of question. After all, she spent the night with him only once and he spent the night with her before that. However, they've been together for a while. Sure that she loved him, but she wondered about Cream. What would she say about this? And what about the others? And shoot, what about the case!? If she stayed with Shadow now, she wouldn't be able to get things done. And her friends would be disappointed with her.

_**(Verse 2):**_

_**Laying so closely  
I feel your skin rubbing and touching me  
Only sweat between us  
Feeling you kissing and pleasing me  
I rub your back  
I kiss your neck  
I know that you love when we touch like that  
I can feel you need me  
Feels so good to me  
Feels so good to me**_

"Why do you ask that?" Amy asked curiously.

"Well…" Shadow began. "With you here, it's like heaven. You're like an angel sent from God, to bless me with happiness and for that, I have to return it. But when you're not around me, I feel lonely and empty. But when you're with me…I feel safe and loved. So the reason why I ask you to stay with me is because…I need you. I mean this; it'll be like heaven everyday for you. I'll make sure of that."

"Shadow…" Amy widened her eyes in shock.

"I mean…why not just quit the job?" Shadow asked again.

"My job?" Amy blinked.

"Yeah", the black hedgehog responded. "This detective work. You're trying to find a crazy criminal, and it's dangerous for you to go after him. Plus, how much do even get paid after each case you solve?"

"That depends on what kind of case it is, and how serious it is", Amy shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, you need a job that you can get paid weekly, not a job to get paid months later", Shadow clarified. "Besides, you need someone to protect you from the criminal."

"What-Who?" Amy blinked twice.

_**(Chorus repeats):**_

_**Going outta my head I think I'm loosing all my mind  
Drive me crazy burning candles making love all night  
Feels so strange it feels so crazy to be in your world  
In your arms lost for words  
You've got me!**_

**_You've got me_**

**_You've got me_**

**_You've got me_**

**_Speechless_**

Just then, Shadow rose himself up and pulled her close. She gasped to herself as she blushed red again. Her heart forged slowly as she felt his pounding gently. She felt Shadow's soft sigh as he rested his chin on her shoulder. Romance was such a big thing to him, and he wanted to share it with Amy. Still, she seemed unsure of what she might answer. She couldn't talk now, because she was nervous and she was confused. Evenly, Shadow had his arms around her lower back area as she kept her arms down to the side. It was so amazing that he wanted to show so much affection to her. Suddenly, Shadow looked at Amy passionately as he pulled her closer to his body.

"Me", he whispered airily.

"…" Amy swift her eyes to the side as she began to think to herself. "I'll think about it", she answered.

"Hm", Shadow lowered his head a little. "I'll wait for your answer", he looked at her again.

"Ok", Amy nodded.

_**Yes, yes, yes  
Yes, yes, yes  
Speechless, all I can say  
Yes, yes, yes,  
All I can say is  
Yes, yes, yes, yes  
**_

Deeply, Shadow placed his lips on her's and held her much closer than before. Amy closed her eyes and deepened her kiss. However, she kept thinking about staying with Shadow. Sure she loved him, but she was unsure if she wanted to stay with him forever. After all, they only knew each other for about almost two months. Still, all of those things he bought her, the places that he took her, were all for her. All for them were given to her, because Shadow wanted to show her that he loved her and he couldn't live without her. She felt the same way, but leaving everything unsolved could cause some problems. And if she kept her guard down form this case, the killer might strike back at any rate.

"I love you", Shadow whispered in Amy's right ear tenderly.

"I love you too", Amy replied.

And so through the whole night, they shared another chapter of passion, warmth, and adoration. Although, is Amy going to say yes?...

_**Kiss me  
Hold me  
You've got me  
Speechless**_

_**Song fades.**_

To Be Continued…


	55. Chapter 55:Espio's Gift

Ch.55: Espio's Gift

At the stroke of midnight, the party was over. All of the invited guests began to leave Knuckles' house as he and Rouge waved goodbye. However, they didn't notice that their house was a little bit messy again, kind of worse than before. No one has every thought that the party was going to last that long! Actually, some thought of leaving the place because of Knuckles' new personality, but they stayed and got used to it.

"Peace out, homies!" Knuckles waved cheerfully.

"Peace!" Vector said as he and Knuckles did a funny gangster handshake.

"Thanks for coming!" Rouge called out.

"That wasn't that bad, was it?" Blaze asked Silver.

"Not really", Silver answered as he and his wife walked back to their house next door.

As everyone else walked their way home, Espio took a seat on the hood on Vector's car. He didn't really enjoy the party really. He was glad to see his old friends well, but he had to focus more on the case. Not only that, but he wondered where Amy was. Then again, he figured that she was with Shadow again. Lucia, Ana, Shin, Melina, and Shin's wife were already in the car asleep. Charmy sat in the middle of the loud snorers as he swift his eyes side to side. Mighty and Vector said goodbye to Rouge and Knuckles and went to the car.

"That was fun!" Mighty hopped happily.

"Fashizzle my nizzle", Vector nodded with agreement.

"Hm", Espio crossed his arms.

"What, you didn't enjoy the party?" Mighty turned to him with his arms crossed.

"Party pooper", Vector pointed with tease.

"Whatever", Espio said. "We might as well be thankful that the killer didn't ruin the party on us."

"He didn't even know where the party was at", Mighty said.

"Maybe, since the music was too damn loud", Espio rubbed his head.

Sonic and Tails were the last ones out the door. Before they took a step off the porch, Knuckles gave them a big friendly squeezy hug until their faces turned dark purple. Rouge tapped him on the shoulder and he released his two old best friends. After getting their breaths back, Tails and Sonic got up and walked away from the house. The blue hedgehog lift his head up and noticed the Chaotix were still at their parked car. He began to wonder about the Chaotix. They knew Amy more than he ever did, so they might give Sonic some help on how he could apologize to her. He thought that Espio would do his favor, because he seems to be the type that doesn't blurt out any secrets. Walking a little faster, Sonic headed to talk to Espio. Tails watched him with a confused look on his face. Vector and Mighty got in the car and squeezed in with the others. Espio yawned as he headed for the passengers' seat.

"Hey, Espio", a familiar voice called him before he opened the door.

"Hm?" Espio turned around to the blue hedgehog. "Sonic? What do you want?"

"Well, um…You pretty much talk to Amy more than I do, right?" Sonic asked nervously.

"Pretty much, why?" Espio said.

"Well…Could you tell her that I'm sorry?" Sonic asked nicely. "And tell her that I made a horrible mistake, and I want her to forgive me."

"For what?" Espio widened his eyes a little.

"I don't wanna talk about it", Sonic shook his head. "But please tell Amy that I'm really sorry."

"…Fine", Espio sighed.

"Thanks pal", Sonic smiled. "I knew I could count on you."

"Yeah, sure", Espio opened the door and got in the car.

"Hey, Sonic", Tails came up behind the blue hero. "What was that all about?"

"Oh, nothing", Sonic looked at him with a smile. "Let's get outta here."

"Ok", Tails yawned.

With their fast speed, they took off and left the area. After everyone else left, the Chaotix departed also. While Espio rode in the passenger's seat, he pondered for a moment. He had no idea what Sonic was talking about. Did something happen between him and Amy? True he hasn't heard for Amy in a while, so he must've missed a lot. Still, he wanted to know what he was talking about. Plus, he had to tell Amy some important things that she has missed out. Espio nodded after he thought of that idea and rested his head on the window and fell asleep.

The next afternoon, Amy opened her eyes under the covers and still in her bathing suit. Shadow was still asleep in his swimming trunks and had his arms around her back. His head was resting on her chest as he was still in dream world. The alarm clock behind him read 12:30 pm, way past morning. Amy looked up at the ceiling as Shadow continued to sleep. She wondered about what he said the other night. He asked her to stay with him forever and quit her job as a detective. She has been worried of what might happen if she said yes. If she said yes, then the Chaotix, Cream, and probably the city would look down at her like a loser. But if she said no, then she could badly break Shadow's heart. She loved him, but she needed to finish the case first. That might work! If Amy quickly finishes the case, then she could arrest the guy, quit the job, and then stay with Shadow forever! So it seemed that Amy has thought up of a good plan ahead for her.

Minutes later, Shadow opened his eyes. He lift his head up and noticed Amy starring at the ceiling. He wondered what she was thinking about, so he had to ask.

"What's wrong, Amy?"

"I've been thinking about what you said last night."

"Oh…"

"Well…Here's what I think what I should do."

"Tell me", Shadow sat up.

"I was thinking", Amy began. "What if I finish this case and then come live with you?"

"Are you sure?" Shadow asked unsurely.

"Yeah", Amy nodded. "Then I guess I'll get a different job, make Cream sleep on the couch, and-,"

Suddenly, Shadow turned her face to his and gave her a very long kiss. Something told Amy that he liked that idea. So that plan wasn't so bad after all! For now, they had to wait until the whole nightmare was over so they could be together. After a few minutes of that kiss, Shadow sighed and hugged Amy tightly like a child that loved its teddy bear.

"Is that ok?" Amy asked with a small red blush.

"Yeah", Shadow nodded. "I'll keep waiting."

"Good", Amy smiled.

Meanwhile, Espio was walking to Amy's hotel room quietly. He decided to walk there, because he did not want to drive Vector's raggedy car. As he came up to the door, he knocked on it. Cream sat up on the couch in her yellow pajamas as she yawned. She then got up and walked to the door as she rubbed her eyes. Without asking who it was, she opened the door. Espio blinked with a sweatdrop. Was Cream staying there all by herself? And where the heck was Amy?

"Cream?" Espio asked.

"Espio?" Cream opened her eyes and looked at him oddly. "What are you doing here?"

"I just came here to talk to Amy", the chameleon explained. "Where is she anyway?"

"Probably still with Shadow", Cream yawned.

"Oh", Espio crossed his arms. "Him."

"Why, what's wrong?" Cream asked with wonder.

"I have a feeling that Amy needs to focus on the case", Espio answered. "Besides, she's starting to change a lot."

"I know", Cream lowered her head. "There are some things that I need to tell you."

"Hm", Espio nodded.

Later on at five o'clock, Shadow and Amy made it back to the hotel. Yet again, they spent the whole day with each other with happiness and love. As they reached up to the door that read 206, they stopped and gave each other another goodbye kiss. After that, Shadow released his lips, waved farewell, and then left. Amy then unlocked the door and opened it. She stopped and noticed Espio sitting on the couch with Cream as they watched some TV.

"What is this?" Amy asked awkwardly.

"Oh, Amy, hi", Cream looked at her with a smile.

"Hm", Espio swift his eyes towards the pink hedgehog.

"What's going on?" Amy blinked confusingly.

"We need to talk", Espio said as he rose up from the couch.

"About what?" Amy asked curiously.

"Well", Espio stretched out his arms. "It's best that we talk about this further away from here."

"…" Amy blinked again with curiosity.

A little while later, Espio and Amy walked to the park. When they left, Cream decided to stay at the hotel just to stay safe. The two creatures continued walking forward until they reached to the middle section with plain green grass and a few flowers. Amy looked around as Espio pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. He then placed it between his lips as Amy turned to him.

"You didn't smoke in my room, did you?" Amy asked as she narrowed her eyebrows.

"No", Espio shook his head.

"Good", Amy crossed her arms. "Now what is it that you needed to tell me?"

"Well…" Espio turned to her. "You haven't been focusing on the case a lot anymore."

"…" Amy looked away a little as the wind blew in her hair. "I know."

"Well, here's what you missed", Espio started. "First, the police scanned the weapons, but found no match. It seemed like he used some special gloves on him so he wouldn't leave any fingerprints."

"You serious?" Amy looked at him in shock.

"Yeah", Espio nodded. "But the weapons are still safe. Second, I met the witness. He told me a lot about this killer that we're chasing after. Turns out that he's been doing something like this for about 2 years."

"What the hell!? Two years!?" Amy widened her eyes.

"Yeah", Espio nodded again. "And third…What do you think of Shadow?"

"Huh?" Amy blinked.

"Really, what do you see in him?" Espio asked and took a puff of his cigarette.

"Well, he's an interesting guy, very nice, independent, and knows how to make a woman happy…" Amy described him poetically.

"Ok, that's enough", Espio interrupted with a sweatdrop appearing on the back of his head.

"Why?" Amy asked in a paranoid tone.

"Well…I don't like him", Espio swift his eyes to the side.

"You don't have to like him", Amy shrugged her shoulders. "Just respect him."

"I'm trying to, but…I have this feeling", Espio said suspiciously.

"Like what?"

"There's…something inside of him…which you probably don't notice", Espio explained. "Remember that time I came by and I shook his hand?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I felt something from him…There was something dark and mysterious inside of him…And it looked like he was hiding something…Just holding something inside of him until he can bust it out. So I'm telling you this now, be careful when you're around him."

Amy widened her eyes in shock again. She never thought that Espio had such a bad feeling with Shadow that much. Plus, she was surprised that he would tell her to be careful around him. Did he really sense something inside Shadow? Amy didn't seem to notice because she only felt comfortable around him when they're together. But now, she was starting to have a bad feeling too. If what Espio said was true, then she had to be careful. Not now, but when she can feel it…

"One last thing", Espio spoke again. "You missed the party the other night."

"What party?" Amy asked.

"Some friendly reunion party at Knux and Rouge's house", Espio said and took another puff out of his cigarette.

"What happened?"

"Well…Sonic came to me and told me to tell you that he was sorry", Espio briefly explained.

"Oh, my god", Amy slapped her forehead with irritation. "Why does he keep bothering him?"

"Hey, he is your friend", Espio glared at her a little bit angrily.

"He WAS my friend", Amy pouted at him. "Now he means nothing to me. He ruined his chances…"

"Hmph", Espio turned around and crossed his arms. "You've changed."

"What do you mean?" Amy asked.

"Ever since you and Shadow got together, you've been…well…different", Espio demonstrated.

"Then why give a damn about it?" Amy asked coldly.

"Cause I'm worried about you-Oop!" Espio covered his mouth.

"What'd you say?" Amy looked at him oddly.

"Nothing, nothing", Espio rolled his eyes to the sky shyly.

"You, worried about me?" Amy asked sarcastically. "Ha. Surprising."

"What makes you think so sure?" Espio asked and began to suck up all of the smoke from his cigarette.

"Well, I heard a few rumors that you had a crush on me", Amy said with a smirk.

By telling that information, Espio choked on some of the smoke and coughed out his cigarette. Then he began to pound his chest to get some air. Due to the hilarious scene, Amy fell back and started cracking up. After Espio got his air together, he looked at the laughing pink hedgehog. He never thought that she would actually say something like that. And who told her all of that? If it was Vector and the others, then he might get pissed about it. However, Espio did care about her safety. If he was too late to save her life, then he would feel guilty for her life. Even though they don't get along a lot, he still had a sense of friendship and adoration for her. Still, he doubts that they could become a couple. So he thought it would be best if they stayed as friends.

"That killed me right there!" Amy stopped laughing as she got up.

"And heck, you made me waste a cigarette", Espio complained.

"You don't need to smoke anyway", Amy told him as if he was her child.

"Geez", Espio reached into his pocket and pulled out another cigarette.

As he lit it up, Amy looked away and sighed. In his mind, Espio felt like helping Amy to look after herself. Even though she's grown up, he still thinks of her as a child. After all, she still had the same cheerful face as she had when she was younger. Although, he wanted to protect her, whether she liked it or not. However, an idea came up to his mind. After he put the cigarette between his lips, he reached in his right jacket pocket. He walked up to Amy, took her right hand and opened it gently. Amy blushed a little, wondering what he was up to. Slowly, Espio opened his right hand and something dropped on Amy's palm. She blinked as she took a look at it. Espio released her hand and she examined the object closely.

"What's this?" Amy starred at the strange object.

"It's a switchblade", Espio answered and took a big puff of his cigarette.

Amy looked at the object again to look for a switch. She suddenly pressed at the top section of the black handle and a long blade popped out. She gasped in fear so she wouldn't cut herself. The sharp blade looked about seven inches long with a very shinny sharp end of it. The blade reflected the sunlight clearly as Amy looked away from the bright light.

"Keep it with you always", Espio stated and Amy turned to him. "Because I'm warning you; if you end up in danger, and you don't have it with you, you will regret it. I promise", he said with a serious look on his face.

Amy starred at him surprisingly as the wind breezed them softly. She never thought that Espio would give her a weapon so she could protect herself. Not only it was a weapon for her safety, it was a gift. At most times, she didn't really need a weapon, but this was her first time having a switchblade in her hands. She nodded, pressed the button for the blade to go back in, and then put the weapon in her left pocket. Then she looked up at Espio with a small smile on her face.

"Thanks."

"No problem", Espio nodded. "I'll walk you home."

"Ok."

The two began to walk their way home as the wind continued to blow. Unexpectedly, Espio wrapped an arm around Amy's shoulder and made her blush. As they continued to walk away, a sudden stranger walked out behind a tree quietly. He watched them through his binoculars, and paid attention to Amy. Now he had a very special plan for her so he could lead her into a trap. Since Espio was with her, he didn't make the attack. When was he going to make his move? Only he knew what to do and when to do the job. The one that was watching them was Grim.

"Hmph", he muffled. "You maybe safe now…But once I get my hands on you…You'll never see the light ever again…"

To Be Continued…


	56. Chapter 56:Finally, Amy meets Grim!

Ch.56: Finally, Amy meets Grim!

After Espio walked Amy home, she went back upstairs and went into her room. Their talk was pretty interesting, considering that Amy now knew that she had to focus again. How long has it been since she hasn't been focusing on the case now? About a week? For almost a month now? Espio was right about something, the case needed to be solved. If Amy continues to get distracted, then nothing will ever get done. So she had a lot of explanation to do. She sat down on the couch as Cream watched some more classic scary movies on the TV.

"Hey", Amy spoke.

"Yeah?" Cream turned to her.

"We need to talk right quick", Amy lowered her head.

"Hmm", Cream took the remote and turned down the volume. "What's up?"

"Well…I've been fooling around lately", Amy confessed. "I mean, I haven't been focusing on the case in a while. In fact, the Chaotix has been doing some of my work. I feel ashamed."

"At least it's a good thing that the Chaotix has your back", Cream noted.

"Yeah, I know", Amy sighed. "Also, I've been a little bit mean lately. I'm really sorry. I guess I've been focusing on my love life instead of my work life."

"No wonder you're telling me to wait a little longer", Cream said.

"Yeah", Amy sighed in sorrow.

"It's ok", Cream accepted Amy's apology. "I understand. However, I haven't been focusing much on the case either, because I kept getting so much homework. The finals are coming up, and I've been studying like crazy."

"Hm", Amy pondered for a moment. "I got it", she snapped her fingers. "To make sure I'm back on track, let's take some time to look around in the streets."

"Tonight?" Cream looked at her fearfully.

"We're gonna be in my car", Amy sweatdropped. "Just for a little while."

"Ok", the peach rabbit nodded with joy. "Besides, I missed all of the action anyway."

"Cool", Amy nodded.

(Amy's P.O.V.)

_What the hell was I thinking? Going alone with Cream, but without the Chaotix? That sounded like a stupid idea to me. I could've invited them, but since they did all of the work for me, I decided to let them take a break for a while. Around midnight, me and Cream put on some different clothes, our jackets, and began to search around the streets… (P.O.V. ends)_

As the time passed, Cream yawned. She has been riding along with Amy as they looked around for the criminal. However, she began to have doubts on finding him. Because her watch read a quarter till one, Amy yawned as she shook her head to keep herself awake. Suddenly, she saw something further ahead. She saw Sally, who wore a short blue dress with long matching boots. It looked like she was waiting for someone. Curiously, Amy stopped her car and unbuckled herself.

"What is it?" Cream asked as she opened her eyes.

"I'll be right back", Amy opened the door. "Keep everything locked", she commanded as she got out.

Leaving Cream behind, Amy walked to Sally, who just pulled out a cigarette out of her blue purse and searched for a lighter. Why would she be standing out there like that? And what was she waiting for? Curiosity stroke Amy as she got a little closer to Sally. Before she lit up her cigarette, Sally turned to Amy.

"What the hell do you want?" she asked impolitely.

"That's what I want to know from ya", Amy replied as she stopped. "What brings you out here?"

"None of your business", Sally lit up her cigarette and placed it in her mouth. "I'm here to meet my man."

"You're new man?" Amy asked sarcastically.

"**YES,** my new man", Sally hissed at her rival angrily.

"Interesting", Amy crossed her arms. "Any ideas why that **YOUR** man wants to meet you here out in the streets?"

"That's none of your business, girly", Sally looked away and took a puff of her cigarette.

"Well, now", Amy narrowed her eyebrows. "Aren't we the bitchy one?" she asked ironically.

Before long, Sally and Amy gave each other same look again. Hatred, jealousy, and unfriendliness. They never liked each other, and they never will. Still, Sally did sound pretty rude to Amy, because all she wanted to know was why she was waiting out here. Since Sally wouldn't answer, things were getting heat up between them. Again, they began to argue about their 'new man'.

Seeing that the two girls were distracted, Grim appeared behind Amy's car and crouched down. Luckily, Amy and Sally didn't notice. Bit by bit, Grim tip-toed to the passenger's side of the white Cadillac. He looked through the window and found the peach rabbit asleep. Her head was on the window as she snored. It was the perfect plan. He was up to something again. Anxiously, he pulled out a hammer and aimed for the window.

"…At least **MY** man knows how to get money!" Sally scolded.

"Cha, at least **MY** man knows how to get and give love!" Amy yelled back wrathfully.

"Look, why don't chu just take a hike?" Sally changed the subject.

"Well, since I had a little sense of care, I thought of telling you to go home", Amy folded her arms again. "There's a criminal on the loose, and he loves to strike women down…"

"Wait a minute…" Sally turned to her suspiciously.

At that point, a sudden glass was broken. Amy and Sally looked around to see where it came from. The department stores around them weren't being robbed, but the shattered glass sounded like it was close. Amy looked back and then gasped. Cream screamed as she was being pulled out of the car by Grim. Sally gasped as if she recognized who it was.

"You!" Amy yelled out as she pointed her finger.

_**(BGM plays 'Run Around' by Jason Radford-from the radio in Amy's car)**_

Grim turned to her as he had Cream's head out of the broken window. He was ready for some action. However, Amy didn't even know that it was just an evil scheme to get her away from her friends. So he pulled Cream out of the car, carried her on his shoulder, and then ran off in a different direction. Amy called out to stop as she followed him.

"Oh, no you don't!" Sally scowled. "Don't you dare get near my man!" she tried to follow, but had to go slow because of her large boots with thin heels.

Running and panting, Grim continued to hold Cream on his shoulder as Amy followed. He was pretty fast, actually faster than Amy. Still, she didn't give up or to take a break. This was her first time seeing him in person, so she got a little nervous. But she had to keep her main focus on catching Grim. If she caught him, she could save Cream and possibly teach him a vital lesson! She began to run faster as she was half close to reach up to the felon.

_**(Verse 1):**_

_**Things are starting to accelerate into something  
Never stopping always trouble bubbling  
Now I think I'm getting dizzy, too much spinning  
Page by page the plot is thickening quickening!  
It's getting too insane  
I'm trying to maintain  
Whoa, whoa, whoa whoa, whoa, whoa whoa!**_

Sally tried to keep up, but her damn boots were slowing her down. So now, she regretted for wearing some long boots to run after someone. That wasn't the main case to her now. Grim was her lover, and she wanted to stop Amy before it was too late. She knew that Sonic left her for Amy, and now, she thought that Grim might leave her for Amy too! Now she was getting pissed. As fast as she could, Sally began to run further, even though she was getting left behind.

_**(Chorus):**_

_**You run around!  
I run around!  
We're all gonna run run run around!  
You run around!  
I run around!  
We all do a run run run around!**_

Continuing to run away, Grim turned a corner and ended up at an empty alley. All he saw was a couple of trashcans and a large wooden fence at the far end. He panted as Cream started pounding him on the back as hard as she could. Quickly, he began to think of a new plan to lead Amy to a trap.

_**(Verse 2):**_

_**It is getting closer  
More intense, ever spinning  
Twisting turning roller coaster!  
Inch by inch the gap is closing  
Pressure building  
Temperature rising  
Higher and higher!  
It's getting too crazy  
I wish I could maybe  
Whoa, whoa, whoa whoa, whoa, whoa whoa!**_

The night sky began to get covered by rain clouds. Grim swore to himself quietly as a stroke of lightning flashed the sky. Amy stopped running as she saw Grim holding Cream hostage. She gasped in fear for her friend's life. Cream lift her head up and stopped pounding on the villain.

"Amy!" she called out for her.

At that moment, Grim turned around and looked Amy. Right on time, he thought. Now that he played the 'take and go' act, it was now time to play the 'run and chasing' act. Amy growled as she got into her fighting position. Out of the blue, Grim dropped Cream on the ground and continued to look at Amy. A confused look came up on Amy's face. What was he up to? Wasn't he going to take Cream and kidnap her? Something was bothering the pink heroine as she glared at Grim viciously.

_**(Hook):**_

_**Run run baby  
Run run baby  
Run run baby  
Run run baby  
Run run baby  
Run run baby  
Like a rocket!  
Like a rocket!  
Never stopping!  
You'll never stop it!**_

Speedily, Grim turned around and took off forward. Amy yelled as she chased after him. Cream tried to say something, but she was too slow to catch up with Amy's speed. Abruptly, Grim pulled down a couple of trashcans in order to make a blockade for Amy. He continued running away as Amy hopped over the obstacles. Nonetheless, she couldn't catch up with the criminal. He was too fast for her, possibly at Sonic's speed! Without a doubt, Amy didn't give up. She kept on going and going and going! This was her chance to take the guy down, and she didn't want to lose him!

_**(Final Chorus):**_

_**You run around!  
I run around!  
We're all gonna run run run around!  
You run around!  
I run around!  
We all do a run run run around!  
You run around! (You run around)  
I run around!  
We're all gonna run run run around!  
You run around! (You run around)  
I run around!  
We all do a run run run around!**_

_**Song Ends.**_

After the long run, Grim got on a small ladder and began to climb on it. He got over the fence and got down on the other side carefully. Then he took off to another area to strike. Amy was further behind until she reached up to the exact same ladder. She was able to climb over the wooden fence, but a part of the sharp wood caught her rain coat's belt.

"Dammit!" Amy yelled with anger as she struggled to get free.

Sucking all of the air in, Amy was able to get loose from her red colored raincoat. But all of the sudden, rain began pour down to the ground hardly. She shrugged as she tried to pull down her raincoat. The belt of her raincoat was stuck between two wood blocks of the fence. So it was no use. She had to go on without her raincoat. She turned around and ran down an empty path in her white sweater-like shirt, long blue pants, and a pair of white and blue tennis shoes. That's why; she kept on going, without looking back, or going back…

To Be Continued…


	57. Chapter 57:Kidnapped

Ch.57: Kidnapped

Amy continued running her fastest until she was out of breath. She has been searching through this empty street for about fifteen minutes now. Her clothes were wet due to the rain and her ponytail was a complete mess. She looked around and found nothing but a few torned down department stores. She was lost. If only she didn't have to chase Grim, then she would probably would've gone back to see if Cream was ok. But right now, she had no idea how to get out of the place. She went through a lot of paths, which only led her further away from her comrade and her escape area. There was no other choice now, she had to go back.

"Great", Amy panted as she looked around. "Now where do I go?"

Turning around, she began to locate a way back to Cream. However, she ended up going around in circles. About twenty minutes later, Amy stopped and looked around again. She sighed as she shook her head. As she took another step forward, she was suddenly pulled into a darker corner. She was then slammed against an old wooden wall of a vacant book store. She opened her eyes to see who it was. A gasp came out of her mouth. By the stroke of lightning, she could see that it was Grim. He was wearing a large black coat, pants, and shoes so he wouldn't show his identity. For the moment, he had her where he needed her.

"_It's him!"_ Amy thought as she glared at Grim evilly. _"Now what do I do?"_

Bravely, Amy head butted Grim to get away from his grasp. As he held his head and walked back, he looked at her angrily. Although, she wasn't that scared of him. No more fainting now. She had to keep herself together. Grim crossed his arms and waved her to bring it on. Amy charged at him and launched a punch. He dodged it, but then she tried to kick him. He dodged that too! Over and over, Amy tried to at least touch him, but he was to fast and hard to get to. Just when she was about to launch a more serious punch across his face, Grim grabbed her right hand and pinned her back at the wall. Amy tried to use her left hand, but it ended up got pinned against the wall too. Before Amy could head butted him again, he suddenly placed his lips onto her's. Her eyes opened widely as she blushed completely red. However, she had no idea who it was and why he would do that. She struggled to get loose, but Grim just pressed his body closer in order to keep her where she was as she moaned a little.

Amy tried to get away again, but then Grim released her and back handed her to the ground. She groaned in pain as she held her left cheek. Secretly, the villain pulled out a needle that was filled with some strange green liquid. As Amy rose up from the hard concrete ground, she was suddenly being held by the neck of two strong arms. She coughed for air, but then she elbowed him and successfully got free. Grim hid the needle in his pocket so she wouldn't notice it. While Amy turned around, Grim started charging her with some fists and kicks. She dodged them as she backed away from him. She yelled angrily as she raised a fist at him. Unluckily, her hand was caught again. But this time, Amy kicked him in the kneecap and got loose. However, Grim didn't hold is knee in pain. Just then, he tackled her and pinned her down on the ground.

"Damn!" Amy seethed with anger as she struggled to get free again.

With her squirming to escape, Grim pinned her arms down and looked at her passionately. Before long, he positioned his lips on her's again. Only this time, she moved her head from side to side. She spitted out some saliva and continued to fight back. At last, Grim was ready. He quickly pulled her face towards his and kissed her again, but added a little bit of French to it. Since Amy got grossed out, she tried to move. However, Grim's aggressive hand wouldn't release her. He used his free right hand, reached into his pocket, and then pulled out the needle. His lips were still on Amy's as she mumbled irately. In position, he held up the needle and then stuck it in her neck. She let out a yell in pain, but then he covered her lips. He injected the green substance into her skin and it began to sink into her blood.

As the thunder rumbled the sky, Grim got off of her as she stood up slowly. Amy panted slowly as she got into her fighting position again. All of the sudden, her head began to feel dizzy. Shortly after that, her eye sight got blurry and she couldn't concentrate. The head aches and the dizziness was making her feel nauseous. A moment later, she blacked out. She had fainted and went into some unconsciousness. Grim walked to her and then picked her up. Finally, he caught the one he was after. Before he took off, he pulled out a piece of paper and let it flew into the air. With that done, Grim held Amy on his right shoulder and then took off.

"I can't believe that", Cream said after Sally told the reason why she was waiting for Grim.

"There, I told you everything", Sally rolled her shoulders. "Now can we please get your stupid friend so she wouldn't sleep around with my new man?"

"Ok", Cream sweatdropped as she got up.

They were still in the alley where Amy and Grim took off. Both of them dashed to the wooden fence and climbed over it. Successfully, they got over it, but fell on the ground, due to its sort of high height. Groaning in pain, Sally and Cream got up and rubbed their bottoms gently. Just then, Cream noticed something next to Sally. She walked over to it and pulled it out of the fence. It was Amy's red raincoat. In the left pocket was Amy's digital camera and a couple packs of bubble gum. The rabbit gasped in fear as she guessed what happened to her best friend. Amy must've gone off to find the criminal by herself! Unpredictably, a piece of paper came out of nowhere and blew against Sally's face. She yelled and cursed angrily as she tried to brush the white sheet of paper off of her. Cream took it and looked at it. She gasped louder as she read it:

_You will never see her again_

"Oh, my god!" Cream said.

"What?" Sally turned to her.

"He's got Amy!" Cream shouted in fear.

"God…Dammit!" Sally pulled her hair. "I knew that bitch was going to steal my new man!"

"Sal", Cream turned to her. "Can you give me a ride to the police station please?"

"Do I have to?" Sally shrugged with complaint.

"I'll pay you", Cream pulled out a $10 bill.

"Ok, whatever", Sally took it.

Both of them climbed over the fence and left the alley. They quickly got in Amy's car and took off in a hurry. At the police station, Officer Jeff, Kyle, and a few security guards were playing cards in the waiting room. All of the silence was destroyed when Cream and Sally barged in hurriedly. The six men gasped as they turned to them.

"Is something wrong?" Jeff asked.

"Amy…has been…kidnapped", Cream panted as she held herself together.

"Kidnapped!?" Kyle gasped as he and the others got out of their seats.

"Heck, I don't even care", Sally waved her hand. "Besides, I'm only the driver here."

"Who kidnapped her?" Jeff asked Cream calmly.

"Just take a deep breath and tell us who took her", Kyle said nicely.

"…" Cream took a very deep breath and then looked at everyone. "The person who kidnapped her…was the criminal."

"You mean the one who's been killing innocent women!?" a young chubbgy security guard asked surprisingly.

"Yes!" Cream answered with tears. "This is all I found", she gave Jeff the note.

"Dear Lord", Jeff gasped after he read the short letter. "We've got to find her now!"

"Before it's too late", Kyle added.

Meanwhile, Grim was jumping from one building top to another. He ignored the rain, the thunder, and the lightning as he went a little faster. Amy was still unconscious by the drug injected into her as she was riding on Grim's shoulder. He had his hand holding her tight so he wouldn't drop her. Now that he has her, he can take her to his hideout and keep her forever. Excitement, desire, and lust were building up inside of him as he chuckled evilly.

"At last…I've finally got you, Detective Rose. Now you belong to me…Forever!" He laughed maniacally as the lightning flashed the sky. He continued to find his way out of the city, with Amy in his grasp…

To Be Continued…


	58. Chapter 58:Tails 'meets' Shadow

Ch.58: Tails 'meets' Shadow

Ever since Cream reported about Amy's disappearance, the police has searched through the whole city. A few days later, a search party started looking all over the town for Amy, but they haven't found trace of her. Neither have they found trace of the killer. Some citizens began to wonder if the criminal killed Amy or worse. For now, they had to keep searching. On a normal Friday afternoon, Sonic had his head on the kitchen table as he slept. He has joined the search party too, but a couple of times he stayed out a little longer than everyone else. He was tired, yet worried. A few times, he ended up having nightmares of finding Amy dead.

Tails walked over to the blue hedgehog and shook his head. He has never thought that Sonic was so worried that much. It was strange, but he had feelings for Amy. The orange fox tapped Sonic on the shoulder softly to wake him up. Then he shook him and whispered his name.

"**AMY, LOOK OUT!"** Sonic sat up and awaken from another nightmare and Tails jumped.

"Dude", Tails blinked. "Are you ok?"

"I just... had another bad dream", Sonic rubbed his head. "Have they found Amy yet?"

"No", Tails shook his head. "This may make you mad…But a few people are saying that Amy's dead-,"

"**SHE CAN'T BE DEAD, SHE CAN'T BE!"** Sonic stood up and tugged onto Tails' shirt collar.

"Sonic, relax", Tails said fearfully.

"…" Sonic released his friend and sat back down. "Sorry."

"Heck, I don't believe that stuff either", Tails rubbed his neck. "At least the police are taking their time to look for her. So now, we just have to wait."

Sonic was silent. He did not reply at all. Even though the police were on the case, he still wanted to help. For the first time, they told him that they didn't need his help. However, Sonic loved Amy, and he would search the whole world for her. Basically, he couldn't get his mind off of her. As it was just said, he was worried.

"Well, um…I'm going to the store right quick", Tails spoke.

"Why?" Sonic asked curiously.

"Just to get a few snacks", Tails shrugged his shoulders. "There's supposed to be a movie premiere on HBO tonight, and I want all of the snacks to eat."

"What movie?"

"'Batman Begins'."

"Hm…I guess I'll come too", Sonic got out of his seat. "I need something to eat anyway."

"_Yeah, because you haven't ate in a week now",_ Tails thought with a sweatdrop.

Minutes later, the two took the train and made it to Station Square. All over the city, there were some missing signs on the buildings and street lights with Amy's picture on them. There were a few cop cars driving through the streets slowly, just in case they found anything suspicious. Sonic and Tails ignored everything as they walked into a convenient store called 7-11. Surprisingly, they were the only customers in there at this time of the day. Usually, in the afternoons, it would be crowded. At least, they didn't have to deal with long lines today.

"Ok, um…How much money do you have?" Tails pulled out his wallet and searched for some money.

"I only brought $10", Sonic held up his $10 bill.

"I only got $15", Tails counted his money. "So what do you want to get?"

"I'll get the pop", Sonic replied.

"And I guess I'll get the snackies."

"Chips and candy's fine with me."

"Ok."

Both Sonic and Tails separated into different sections to find something to eat and drink on. Sonic went to the soda area, where there were a lot of varieties of different kinds of pop. He looked through the glass doors and began to scan through the shelves. After awhile, he opened the door and began to take out some 16oz. bottles of soda. Meanwhile, Tails was putting all of the candies and bags of chips in a plastic bag. Then he went up to the cash register and looked down at a smaller shelf under the counter.

Suddenly, the door opened and the bell made a little ding sound. However, Sonic and Tails ignored it. The stranger walked his way up to the counter and touched the bell twice. Tails looked over to his left and noticed a bag of flaming hott cheetos. It appears that it was the last one. Smiling with delight, he reached his hand to grab it. But then, the stranger's hand took the bag away right in front of his face. Tails stood up as he was about to yell something. Luckily, he didn't, because the stranger was a black hedgehog with red streaks and ruby red eyes. He seemed calm, and he didn't notice that Tails was about to take the bag. He was wearing a red jacket that was zipped up, long jeans, and black and red shoes. Funny, he almost looked like Sonic! Tails watched the black hedgehog sat the bag of cheetos on the counter as he waited for an employee. Moments later, a tall man wearing his 7-11 uniform walked up to the counter.

"Can I help you?" he asked nicely.

"I'll take the usual", the black hedgehog replied.

The man nodded as he walked to the back to a large counter filled with boxes of cigarettes. Silence was built between Tails and the dark creature. The man came back and sat down a medium pack of Camel cigarettes. Tails blinked twice as he looked at the cigarettes and back at the black hedgehog. He didn't look like a smoker, but he did look very mean. Before the man asked for his license, the black hedgehog pulled out his wallet and took it out. Then he pulled out a hand full of $50 bills. Whoa, that looked like a lot of money, Tails thought. After the black hedgehog paid for the cigarettes and the bag of flaming hott cheetos, he turned around.

"Come again, sir", the man said and then went to the employee's restroom.

Tails watched the black hedgehog walked pass him until he stopped. He barely took to steps away from him. The orange fox blinked twice as he looked at the hedgehog confusingly. All of the sudden, the black hedgehog glared at him. Tails gasped to himself as he swift his eyes around. Yet, he couldn't stop looking at his eyes. Those red eyes; they were filled with hatred and suspicions. Tails looked back at the counter and closed his eyes. The black hedgehog smirked and then walked away from him. As Sonic continued taking out some pop, he felt a sudden chill behind him.

"Huh?" Sonic turned around.

Nothing was behind him. The door closed itself as the bell rang again. Sonic looked around to see if anyone else was there. No one was in sight outside; he didn't even see anyone walking away from the store or a car driving off. Now, everything was in complete silence. Sonic shrugged his shoulders, grabbed about 10 bottles of pop and then struggled to carry them in his arms.

"Ok, Tails, I got the pop-," he spoke but suddenly he heard a loud thud.

Sonic gasped and looked back. He saw Tails on the ground unconscious with the bag still under his right arm. He gasped again as he dropped the bottles and ran to him.

"Tails, Tails!" he got down and shook him. "Wake up."

He checked the pulse and he still felt a little vibe inside of Tails' wrist. Thankfully, he was still alive. But what happened to him? Sonic looked around and didn't see anyone around but the both of them. There weren't any scratches on the poor fox, but he didn't wake up. Something must've happened while Sonic was distracted. Why did Tails faint? Was he sick or was he tired?

"What happened?" Sonic whispered as he starred at his best friend worriedly.

Early enough, Tails opened his eyes. He was lying on the couch in the living room. Suddenly, he remembered the look on the black hedgehog's face. He gasped in fear as he sat up. Panting hardly, he looked around. Sonic was sitting on the floor in front of him as he flipped the channels.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Phew", Tails sighed in relief. "Thank God it's you. I thought that you were…"

"Who?" Sonic looked back.

"First of all, how long have I been unconscious?" Tails rubbed his head.

"For about an hour", Sonic looked at the clock above the television. "What happened? Why did you collapse?"

"Um…We were at a convenient store, right?" Tails asked to make sure.

"Yeah", Sonic nodded.

"Ok, while you were looking for some pop, I was about to grab the last bag of Flaming Hott Cheetos", Tails began. "I almost grabbed it, but then someone else took it before I could."

"And then what happened?"

"I almost yelled at the guy, but I stopped. He looked very vicious and he looked like he didn't want to play any games."

"Go on…"

"Not only he bought that, but he also bought a pack of cigarettes. Then, he gave me this weird look in his eyes."

"He did?" Sonic asked as he looked back at him.

"Yeah", Tails began to get some chills. "His eyes looked fearsome…dark…and so evil…filled with hatred and greed…"

"What did he look like?"

"He almost looked like you", Tails looked at Sonic.

"Me?"

"Well, if I can recall, it was a black hedgehog. He had these evil red eyes, and man, he looked scary", Tails illustrated.

"Wait…" Sonic pondered for the moment. "Shadow…"

"Who?" Tails blinked.

"It's probably Shadow", Sonic answered softly. "But why didn't you say anything? I would've told him to back off."

"I couldn't", Tails shook his head. "Because I was so paralyzed with fear. And if did say something…I might've regret it."

"Did he really give you that look?"

"Yeah", the 16 year old fox nodded. "It looked more like…a death glare…like he had the eyes of a murderer."

Sonic gasped and covered his mouth. He couldn't believe his eyes. Somehow, he remembered the time at the football game when Shadow gave Espio an odd look on his face. Now he began to see it. There really was something mysterious about him. Also, something strange and evil. Quietly, Sonic began to ponder to himself.

To Be Continued…


	59. Chapter 59:The Warning

Ch.59: The Warning

Later that day, Espio decided to take a walk around the city. He needed some fresh air, because he's been frustrated on Amy's disappearance. He has searched for her, but he hasn't found any clues to where she has gone. Surely enough, he has been working his hardest to find his comrade. So now, he wanted to take some time to think as he walked. As he continued to walk forward, he stopped. Ahead of him, he saw Shadow smoking a cigarette. Strange, he didn't look like a smoker. Espio looked at him suspiciously at first, but then he thought of something else. He ran out of cigarettes and he needed something to calm him down. With no other choice, he walked to Shadow, even though he didn't like him.

"Well, well, well", Espio said with his hands in his pockets. "Since when did you smoke?" he came up next to Shadow.

"I only smoke once in a while", the black hedgehog answered as hr blew out some smoke.

"Funny, we got something in common", the purple chameleon said suspiciously.

"Hm", Shadow reached into his pocket. "You want one?" he pulled out a normal Camel cigarette.

"Hmm…" Espio pondered for a moment.

"Come on, there's no poison in it or anything", Shadow chuckled. "We're friends, right?"

"More like acquaintances", Espio took the cigarette and put it in his mouth.

Shadow flipped on his lighter and placed it under Espio's cigarette. After it lit up, Espio took a puff and blew out some smoke. Then Shadow put his lighter back in his pocket. Why would Shadow be smoking? And since when was he so kind to Espio? A sense of suspicion ran through Espio's mind as he watched Shadow blow out some smoke through his lips. Everything seemed ok now, but Espio had a feeling that he was up to something.

"I heard that Amy ended up missing", Shadow spoke. "I feel bad for her."

"Well, you should", Espio looked away from him. "You are her boyfriend, right?"

"Not just a boyfriend", Shadow smirked. "I'm her lover, I'm her king. And I'm her only man of the world."

"How poetic", Espio replied sarcastically.

"Hmph", Shadow muffled and took a puff of his cigarette.

Espio gathered all of the smoke and blew it out of his mouth also. He began to wonder why Shadow wasn't acting so worried. Then again, he didn't see him during the search party. Again, he began to feel wary. There was something odd about that guy. He seemed calm, almost like he didn't care about Amy. Espio didn't like it. Something was telling him that he was definitely up to no good.

"So, do know where Amy is?" Espio asked distrustfully.

"No", Shadow said and blew some more smoke out of his mouth. "If I knew where she was, I would've told ya, right?"

"Really?" Espio crossed his arms.

"Come on", Shadow scoffed as he turned at him. "You know that I love her, right?"

"That's possibly true", Espio glared back with more suspicions.

"What's with the dirty look?" Shadow asked in an unhappy tone.

Both of them starred at each angrily. Espio began to examine Shadow a little further. And then he saw it again. The same evil smirk, the darkness flowing around him, everything. Master Shin's words began to echo inside of Espio's head as he kept himself calm.

"…_keep a close eye on him…"_ those were the only words that Espio remembered.

"You got a problem with me?" Shadow asked and took another puff of his cigarette.

"Yeah, I do", Espio answered rudely. "I'm gonna give you a head warning."

"What?" Shadow narrowed his eyebrows again.

"If you're the one behind all of this, then you're going to pay", Espio replied coldly. "Or if I find Amy injured or killed by your bare hands…Then I'll make sure that you go downtown."

"I don't have time for this", Shadow walked forward.

Aggressively, Espio grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against a brick building behind him. Shadow growled as he opened his eyes. Espio growled back and threw away his cigarette.

"I'm serious", the chameleon hissed. "If I find out that you touched, hurt, or did something to her in a bad way…then I'll kill you."

"You're actually going to kill me?" Shadow scoffed.

"Heck or I could let some prisoners kill you instead", Espio gripped his neck tighter.

"I'm guessing that you have a crush on my girlfriend, huh?" Shadow spoke back.

"Don't make me kill you", Espio threatened.

Shadow only glared at him with anger and annoyance. He was getting sick of everyone telling him to back off from Amy. After all, he didn't SAY that he was behind all of this. Slowly, Espio released him and he coughed for some air. His cigarette fell to the ground along with a few raindrops of blood. Good lord, Espio could've killed him right there! But he didn't care. He didn't like him, and he wouldn't get a damn if he ran out of air. The black hedgehog gave him another fiery look on his face. Espio ignored it and gave him the reflected glare. Suddenly, a small smirk appeared on Shadow's face. Where the heck did that come from? Just as Espio saw before, the evil smirk. Pretending that nothing happened, Shadow walked pass Espio but then stopped.

"Have fun", Shadow said in an evil tone.

Espio gasped as he turned around. The black hedgehog was already across the street. He turned around to his right and then walked off, without looking at him. Now that he was gone, Espio took a deep breath in relief. A lot of questions entered his mind again. Was that really Shadow? What's with the evil smirk? Is he really up to something? Thinking to himself, Espio walked back to the agency in a different direction.

To Be Continued…


	60. Chapter 60:Cosmo's Discovery

Ch.60: Cosmo's Discovery

That night, Cosmo climbed down from her tree house. She has been staying there, even during out in a few thunderstorms. After she got down from the ladder, she looked at her watch. It was after nine o'clock, kind of late to be out at this time of the night. Cosmo forgot to pick some berries today because she overslept. Consequently, she had to pick some berries out in the dark. She had the moon to give her light, so there was no reason to get a flashlight. She began to look around for at least a bush of berries.

Time has passed since she left. All she has found were trees, grass, and a few spider webs hanging down from the tree branches. Hopefully, she wasn't lost. Well, she was further away from her tree house than she expected. But then she stopped. She noticed an empty campsite with a large pink tent that just stood there normally. Cosmo blinked twice as she wondered who was staying there. Curiously, she walked to the tent and opened it. She gasped as she over-looked all of the red blood all over a Hello Kitty sleeping bag and a Verizon Wireless cell phone. What in the world just happened there?!

"Oh, my god", Cosmo covered her mouth so she wouldn't puke. "What happened here?"

In order to avoid looking at the disgusting scene, Cosmo got out of the tent but fell back. She looked around then spotted something. On her left, she saw a trail of footprints on the ground. She got up and walked to them. They looked like they've been there for almost a week or so. Because of her nosiness, Cosmo decided to follow the trail in order to find out what happened. As many minutes passed by, Cosmo found her way through the long trail. She continued walking through the dark jungle, as she looked over some used bear traps with blood on them. She gulped, because she was scared. But however, she kept on going.

Soon after time, Cosmo stopped. Across from her, she saw a two story high house that was made out of wood. She blinked twice. What's with the house doing there and who lived there? Cautiously and curiously, she tip-toed to the house. At first, she was about to go to the front door, but she stopped. She noticed a small light was coming from a window right next to her. She tilts her head to the side. And there, she gasped.

Through the dusty yet clear seen window, Cosmo saw a man in black who was putting on Amy's clothes on her naked body. How did Amy get in there? Was she kidnapped? Cosmo noticed that she was unconscious, because Amy didn't move. Whoever the guy was, he seemed like a disgusting pervert. At least, he didn't notice Cosmo watching them. After he was done putting on Amy's clothes, he carried her in bridal style and then left the living room. Now he and Amy were gone. Cosmo covered her mouth as she backed up from the window. Obviously, she was scared. However, she didn't want to fight him, because she had a feeling that she might get killed. Still, she had to save Amy.

"_I've got to tell someone",_ Cosmo thought to herself.

Silently, she walked backwards off the front porch. Then she turned around and walked off. Once she got further away from the house, she started running, while she stayed cautious to avoid some surprising traps. Back in the house, Grim carried Amy up to the bedroom where he once had Lucia kept hostage and where he and Stacey had their last love making. He walked inside and then took her to the old looking four poster bed. Carefully, he sat her down on her back as she was still unconscious. Lovingly, he strokes her left cheek with his hand softly. Then he slides his hand down to her chin and rubs it smoothly.

"My sweet rose", he whispered passionately.

A moment later, Grim looked under the bed to find something. He pulled out a small box that was filled with chains, duct tape, and rope. Impatiently, he searches for a way to keep Amy strapped in the bed.

Back at Tails' house, he was sitting on the couch as he turned to the HBO channel. Sonic was watching the bag of popcorn circle around in the microwave. They were going to watch the premiere of the movie 'Batman Begins'. Both of them haven't seen it before, so this would be their first time. After the popcorn was ready, Sonic took it out of the microwave but quickly sat it on the counter.

"Hot, hot", Sonic waved his hands to cool them off from the hot burn of the popcorn bag.

"Great", Tails shrugged. "The movie doesn't start until 20 minutes."

"We can wait", Sonic spoke and then started blowing his palms gently.

A thunder roar was heard outside. Yet again, it was going to rain. Sonic and Tails sighed, since they were getting tired of the raining weather. All of the sudden, a knock was heard on the door. The two creatures looked at each other oddly then walked to the door. Tails opened the door and then he gasped. It was Cosmo, who was panting in exhaustion and fear.

"Cosmo?" Tails asked in shock.

"What happened to you?" Sonic asked.

"I saw Amy", Cosmo burst out.

"Wait, what?" Sonic pulled her in politely. "What did you say?"

"I saw Amy…deep within the Mystic Ruins' jungle", Cosmo explained frightenedly.

"Are you serious!?" Tails turned around.

"Where?" Sonic asked Cosmo calmly.

"At some wooden house", Cosmo described. "Further away from my tree house."

"What was she doing?" Sonic asked with worry.

"She was unconscious", Cosmo continued. "As I looked through the window, I saw a man, dressed in black, and he was putting on her clothes."

"He what?!" Sonic gasped.

"Oh, dear", Tails had a scared and disgust look on his face.

Sonic was silent again. Since he knows where Amy was, he could save her! And he didn't want to know what might the man might've done to her. He narrowed his eyebrows and rushed to the kitchen area. He pulled out a few drawers until he found some knives.

"You're kidding me, right?" Tails asked as he shook in fear.

"It's the only way", Sonic pulled out a chef's knife. "We have to save her."

"We might as well grab a knife too", Cosmo turned to her ex.

"Um, ok", Tails nodded.

The two sixteen year olds ran to the drawer where Sonic had opened. Tails took a small kitchen's knife as Cosmo took a utensil knife. All three of them were ready for action. They could get some help, but there was no time for that. Sonic and Tails turned to Cosmo, who was taking a deep breath.

"Lead the way", Sonic said courageously.

"Come on!" Cosmo ran out the door as the other two followed.

A while later, Cosmo, Tails, and Sonic appeared at a campsite that had a large pink tent in front of a tree. Tails looked around as Sonic observed the tent oddly. As for Cosmo she gulped and shivered in fear.

"What's with this tent?" the blue hedgehog asked.

"You don't want to know what's in there", Cosmo answered.

Daringly, Sonic walked to the tent. He took one look inside and then gasped in fear and fell on his bottom. Tails ran to him, but then fell back because of the blood inside the tent. They panted as they got their knives. There was so much blood on the sleeping bag, on the cell phone, and some on the soft ground. It was very disgusting to see, but Tails quickly held his mouth so he wouldn't puke.

"You see?" Cosmo turned to them.

"Thanks for the head warning", Sonic said sarcastically as he and Tails stood up. "Now which way?"

"Follow me", Cosmo took off and Sonic followed.

"W-wait up!" Tails yelled out in fear as he followed the two.

"_Amy",_ Sonic thought with courage and anger. _"Hang in there, ok? I'm coming for you!"_

A few rain clouds started gathering around in the sky as the three continued running. Another sound of thunder echoed through the whole jungle. However, they ignored it. Suddenly, drops of water fell to the ground. Sonic, Tails, and Cosmo kept going as they panted. Hopefully, and hopefully, they would save Amy in time before it was too late…

To Be Continued…


	61. Chapter 61:Sonic vs Grim

Ch.61: Sonic vs. Grim

Finally, Sonic, Tails, and Cosmo reached up to the wooden house. All the lights were off, and it seemed quiet. Not too quiet, because the sky began to rain. Cosmo hid behind Tails as he gulped. They were already terrified of the place and they didn't want to go in there. As for Sonic, he seemed calm but still worried about Amy. If she was in there, then he had to fight the kidnapper and get her out. Even if it cost his life. He took a deep breath as Cosmo and Tails shivered with fear.

"A-a-a-re y-y-you-u-u s-s-sure ab-b-b-ou-ou-ou-t th-th-th-this?" Tails asked shakily.

"Yeah", Cosmo said. "We should go back and get some help.

"…" Sonic ignored them and walked to the house.

"Sonic…" Tails and Cosmo whined and followed.

Watchfully, Sonic walked up to the front door. His friends followed as they whimpered fearfully. He shushed them as he grabbed the hold of the doorknob. He tried to turn it, but it wouldn't budge. Apparently, it was locked. Sonic swore to himself quietly as he struggled to get the door open. He then kicked it, but the door didn't collapse. Cosmo and Tails gasped as they backed up a little. Meanwhile, Grim was finishing duct taping Amy to the bed until he heard some strange noises coming from downstairs.

"Dammit", he whispered with irritation.

Quickly as possible, he finished the duct taping Amy until it all reached up to her neck. Then afterwards, he used the last of it and placed it on her mouth. Curtly after that, he went out of the door and locked it. Tip-toeing through the hallway, he pulled out a combat knife in order to use it on the intruder.

Sonic gave up kicking and pounding the door as he panted. There was no answer or no sound of anyone coming to the door. Now he was really worried. What was going on in the house? Suddenly, the door opened slightly as it squeaked. Was it haunted? With no other choice, Sonic took a step inside. Due to the coldness from the rain, Tails and Cosmo followed him. After ten steps forward, they entered the house. No lights were on; it was dark. All of the sudden, the closed slammed behind everyone and they gasped.

"I'm scared", Tails whispered.

"We're gonna be ok-," Sonic spoke.

"**AAHH!!"** Cosmo suddenly screamed in fear.

"Cosmo!" Tails and Sonic looked around in the darkness.

Within a blink of an eye, the lights suddenly turned on. Sonic and Tails looked around and found that Cosmo was missing. They looked back and then gasped. At the front door, Cosmo was being held hostage by a man dressed in all black. She had her mouth covered by one hand and his right arm held her by the stomach. Tails got into his fighting position because he didn't like the guy touching her like that. Sonic had a surprised look on his face as he looked at him. Maybe Tails did still have some feelings for Cosmo. However, they had to stay focus on saving her. Slowly, the man in black pulled out a combat knife and held it under Cosmo's chin. She mumbled a small scream and Tails growled. Sonic only glared at the evil doer as he got his knife in position.

"Hey", Tails whispered. "I'll take care of him."

"Are you crazy?!" Sonic whispered loudly even the mad man could hear him.

"Look, just hurry up and get Amy", Tails replied calmly.

"Be careful", Sonic nodded.

The man in black looked at them angrily. He didn't want any of them take Amy away from him. She only belonged to him now, that's what he thought. Sonic turned around and rushed out of the living room. The criminal threw down Cosmo, ran pass Tails, and then grabbed the collar of Sonic's white tanktop. Then he threw Sonic back in the living room. Tails looked back, but then he got knocked down by Sonic after all of that flying. Cosmo sat up and gasped. The heroes moaned in pain as they rubbed their heads. Sonic and Tails looked at the mysterious person and then gave him angry glares. All the man did was crackling his fists and listened to his bones pop.

"Cosmo, go get some help!" Sonic ordered.

"I'm on it", Cosmo rushed out of the house.

Grim looked at the two creatures evilly. Both of them had knives, but he didn't care. He had a knife too, but his was a little bit shorter than theirs. He waved a finger to come get some. Sonic was the first one up as he charged at him. Just then, they began a little sword fight with their knives. Tails moved out the way so he wouldn't get hurt. As Sonic continued swinging his knife, Grim dodged all of his attacks. But then, he swung his knife. Sonic backed away but ended up having a large cut on the center of his shirt. However, the cut didn't reach his skin. Hastily, Grim kicked Sonic in the stomach and then knocked him down. However, the battle wasn't over yet.

Sonic groaned in pain as he slowly got up on his feet. Just then, the psycho began to swing his knife at him. Thanks to his genetically enhanced flexes, he was able to dodge the sharp blade. After the last swing, Sonic did a punch combo on him. With great strength, the felon was able to drop his weapon. Tails hid behind a couch just in case Sonic needed some back up. Before Sonic launched the last punch, Grim grabbed his fist, punched him in the gut again, and then kicked him forward. Sonic spun in the air and then got slammed against the hard wooden wall. He coughed out some blood as the impact hit his back. He slid down slowly and Tails gasped. Things were starting to get out of hand.

Evilly, Grim walked to the unconscious blue hedgehog. This was his perfect chance to kill him. That's what he gets for getting in his way. On the other hand, he didn't know that Tails was getting his knife in position as he stayed behind the large couch. As he took another step, Tails charged at him with his knife. Since he had a sense of hearing, he was able to get into his cautious mode. He turned around, grabbed Tails' left hand, and then slid the knife out of his hand. Then he elbowed him hardly and punched him across the face.

The orange fox transversely slid on the wooden floor until he hopped up back to his feet. He wasn't gonna give up that easily. His best friend was unconscious and it was up to him. He charged at the evil maniac again, but all he received were strong punches in the face and in the stomach. But he didn't give up just yet still. Again, he got up on his feet and charged at the enemy. This time, he ducked down the punches and dodged the kicks. Suddenly, he started dodging the fast attacks from the guy. He panted slowly as he walked back slowly. With him distracted, Grim did a low kick on him and he fell back. Then he stomped on his stomach aggressively. Tails puked out some blood as he held his belly in great pain.

Sonic opened his eyes slowly as he grumbled in pain. He lifts his head up and noticed the man in black was gone. By the sound of some coughing, Sonic turned to his right but then gasped. He saw the bad guy squeezing Tails' throat by using his big black shoe. Angrily and carefully, he rose up to his feet and seethed in pain.

"Hey!" he shouted out to him.

Grim stopped choking Tails and looked back. He was shocked that the blue hero was still alive. Still, he was just warming up. He left the fox panting in pain and exhaustion as he walked to Sonic. The blue hedgehog growled as he got into his fighting position. Then, they charged at each other. Next thing they knew, they were gripping onto each other's hands to push one another back. Coming up with an idea, Sonic kneed the man in the stomach and then back fisted him to the ground. After that, he kicked the man to the side and watched him roll on the ground slowly.

"Where's Amy?!" Sonic demanded. "What have you done to her?!"

No answer. The killer wasn't dead; he was struggling to get back up to his feet. Once he got back up and turned to him. Surrounding him was evil, hatred, and no mercy. He was getting tired of the blue creature getting in the way. He didn't want him to take Amy away from, nor did he want to lose to him. So now, it was getting personal. Tails still held his stomach as he panted to himself. Sonic took one look at him, then at the crazed being. Anger was building up inside of him as he clenched his fists. First his crush gets kidnapped, and then his best friend tries to fight the guy but ends up coughing out some blood! At this instant, he was seriously pissed. Although, Grim didn't care. He tilted his neck side to side in order to straighten it out. Sonic stretched out his legs and then crumbled his fists. Both of them were ready for round two. And so, they began again…

To Be Continued…


	62. Chapter 62:Awakening

Ch.62: Awakening

Sonic charged at his opponent as he yelled with anger. Surprisingly, the man in black vanished. Sonic gasped and looked around. Within a blink of an eye, the man appeared again and then punched him in the face. The blue hedgehog didn't' give up that easily. He and the man charged at each other and started dodging each other's attacks. Just then, Sonic did a somersault and knock the man off of his feet. Adding that, he did a flip-like kick and sent him further away from him. The man slid across the floor and landed behind Tails.

"I'm gonna ask you again", Sonic clenched his fists. "Where. Is. Amy?" he asked callously.

Grim ignored his question as he rose up slowly. He panted and then tilted his neck again. Perceptibly, he wasn't ready to surrender just yet. Instead, he got into his fighting position and then charged at Sonic. The blue hedgehog growled as he got prepared to continue.

There was darkness. Nothing was in sight. All around this darkness was silence. A sudden moment later, the silence was broken slowly. There was a heartbeat, someone was alive. As the heart continued to pound calmly, a couple of eyeballs opened as a sigh came out. The survivor looked from side to side and found nothing but the dark brown wooden walls. It was Amy, who was awakening from her long coma. She was able to wake up from some strange noises that she heard from below. As she tried to sit up, she stopped. She was stuck because she had lots of duct tape all over her body. Only her head wasn't taped down to the bed. What's worse is that her mouth was taped shut so she wouldn't cry for help. She mumbled in anger as she struggled to get free.

Back with Sonic, he was getting up from another attack from his opponent. Grim crunched his fists and got back into his fighting position. Tails continued to pant as the pain in his stomach began to heal. Painfully, Sonic got back up to his feet. His jaws were sore and he had a sting in his stomach. To Grim, it was perfect. He charged at him again as Sonic got into his fighting position. Tails opened his left leg and the man tripped on the ground. Then he sat up slowly as he held his stomach.

"You ok?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah", Tails sighed weakly. "I'm ok."-

Just then, the psycho in black got up to his feet and charged at Sonic. The blue hero charged at him too and then skid on the floor. Then he did a homerun slide and knocked the man off of his feet again. Tails cheered as Sonic got up with a smirk. But then, the man panted angrily and loudly. Both Sonic and Tails gasped as they turned to him. The villain got up slowly as he held his knees in pain. Then he turned around at the two creatures. Once again, Sonic got up and charged at him. Before he could've kicked him, Grim grabbed his foot, spinned him around in the air, and then kicked him to the wall. Sonic got up from the second wall attack as he seethed in pain and fury. They just won't quit! With Tails' distraction for his friend's safety, Grim grabbed him by the neck and started choking him to death.

"Tails!" Sonic gasped as he ran to save his life.

"Perfect", the villain said to himself.

Grim punched the fox to make him unconscious and then got back up. He then stopped Sonic's fist from hitting his face. After that, he punched him in the gut as hard as he could. Sonic gasped as he coughed out some blood. All of the blood was starting to excite the evil man. Focusing on the blue boy, he kneed him in the gut and then back handed him to the ground. As Sonic puked out some more blood, Grim got down to his knees and grabbed him by the neck. He gripped his neck as Sonic tried to breath.

"No-!" Sonic gasped in fear as he struggled to get loose.

Bad idea. In result, he got pinned to the ground as his neck was still in the villain's grasp. He looked up the ceiling as his sight got a little blurry. He was running out of breath and Tails was already unconscious. He and the man have been fighting for so long and he was starting to run out of strength. All of a sudden, Sonic saw something. He saw a face. It was Amy's. Sure it was his imagination, but he couldn't stop thinking about her for the moment. There was nothing else he could do. Was this the end of him? Where was Amy? What's going to happen next? At that moment, Sonic had his last words to say.

"Amy…I'm sorry…" he said weakly that he could barely hear himself.

At that point, he was then punched in the face. Shortly after that, he became unconscious. Grim released him and got up to his feet. He panted hardly as he bent over with his hands on his knees. That was a long ass fight. Somehow, he recalled when he fought the armadillo while he tried to kidnap Ana. They had something in common. He and Sonic were fighting their hardest to save who they cared for. However, they were no match for Grim. At first he thought of killing Sonic and Tails, but he didn't. A sudden idea came to his mind as he pondered for the moment.

Amy continued to struggle get out of the duct tape, but it was no use. Every single piece of the gray vinyl fabric-reinforced tape was all over her body. She had to calm down and think of a way out. Suddenly, she heard some silence. The noises that she heard before were gone. Did something happen as she woken up? Was there a battle or something? She was worried. What if any of her friends came here to save her but they failed? Amy widened her eyes as she began to remember something. Her switchblade. She then recalled the conversation that she and Espio had the other day.

"_What's this?" _

"_It's a switchblade. Keep it with you always. Because I'm warning you; if you end up in danger, and you don't have it with you, you will regret it. I promise."_

Espio's words triggered inside of Amy's mind as she stayed silent. The weapon luckily was in her right pocket of her jeans. She tried to reach for it but her arm wouldn't budge. Another idea came into her mind. She sucked all of the air in to make her skinnier. Next, she pulled her right arm out of the tape and pulled the tape off of her mouth. She sighed hardly even though it was kind of loud. Then she started pulling some of the duct tape off of her. As she reached to her legs, she pulled out her switchblade, pressed the button, and watched the sharp edge pop out. After that, she used it to cut the rest of the duct tape off of her. Her shoes were off and that seemed kind of awkward. However, she didn't care. She put the knife back in her pocket and sat up.

Suddenly, she held her stomach in pain. Quickly, she held her mouth so she wouldn't puke. She searched for a trashcan and found one next to her right. Bending over, she let out a huge vomit. Something was wrong with her. Her body was in serious pain right now and she could barely move. She felt sore and weak. What in the world happened to her while she was asleep? It was a pretty good thing that she didn't feel the pain while she was unconscious. Badly enough, she had to feel the pain now. The aching was coming from the chest area, her stomach, her legs, and even down between.

"What the hell?" Amy said sickly and let out another vomit. "I don't feel so good…"

After another vomit, Amy panted. Why would she be puking all of the sudden? Something REALLY bad must've happened to her body while she was unconscious. However, she had to save that explanation for later. Easily yet painfully, she got out of the bed and got on her feet. Just then, she collapsed on her knees. All of the pain was building in on her and she didn't like it one damn bit. She had to get out of there before it would be too late for her. So walking would do no good to her now. Instead, she began to crawl to the door.

The crawling didn't hurt her body as much as the time she tried to stand up. Carelessly, Amy grabbed the doorknob and pulled herself up a little on her knees. She twisted it but I didn't open. She swore loudly a few times as she continued trying to open the door. Although she didn't know that Grim could hear her from downstairs. Now he had a very special plan for her. However, he had to make her friends as hostages first. He grabbed Sonic and Tails by the hands and then sat them on the couch. Then he went to a door at the far left end and grabbed lots of rope. He pulled on the thick cotton object to make sure it was tight enough. Actually, it was tighter than he thought. Taking all of the rope out, he walked to his unconscious enemies and began to tie them up.

Amy gave up trying to open the door. She panted as she looked down on the floor. However, she didn't give up yet. First, she examined the key hole to figure out its size. Second, she pulled out her weapon and let the blade pop out. Amazingly, the sharp end of the blade was the right size. The pink hedgehog calmly stuck the blade into the key hole and started to turn it side to side. After five minutes of trying, Amy successfully unlocked the door. She then opened it slowly and listened to it squeak. Standing up slowly, she held her switch blade in place. Slowly yet painfully, she walked out of the door and looked around. The hallway was dark but the lightning flashes gave her some light. The thunder roared loudly and made her jump. She was able to cover her gasp so she wouldn't make any noises.

Sonic and Tails were sitting on the couch next to each other. Both of them had their arms tied to the back with some rope as they were still unconscious. Also, they had a piece of cloth on their mouth so they wouldn't say anything. Grim crossed his arms as he looked up the ceiling. He could sense that Amy has awoken. With her friends in place, he was ready to give her a nice surprise. He chuckled evilly to himself as the lightning flashed through the windows.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are", he spoke.

Amy took a step away from the door and looked around. She could barely see some strange markings on the walls as the lightning flashed the sky. All she saw was some red stuff that looked like blood. Fear was building up inside of her again. She wanted to faint, but there was no time to fool around. As gently as she could, she began to tip toe down the hallway. She had to go slow because of the pain in her body. Grim continued to wait as he looked forward at the exit to the living room. Sonic was still unconscious until he heard his heart beat. He opened his eyes and then looked to his right. He gasped and saw the man in black starring forward. His eyes widened in fear as the lightning continued striking the sky.

To Be Continued…


	63. Chapter 63:The Killer is

Ch.63: The Killer is…

Sonic continued to stare the man in black with fear. Sweat started rolling down form his forehead as he shivered a little. He was strapped up, so he was useless for now. But something confused him? What was the guy waiting for? Even though he looked calm, Sonic could tell that who or whatever he's waiting for, he'll just go psycho on them like he did to him and Tails.

"_Oh, my god",_ Sonic thought frightenedly. _"It's him! But…what is he waiting for?"_

The man turned to the blue hedgehog. Perfect timing, he thought. Roughly, he pulled Sonic up to his feet as he mumbled angrily. Then he grabbed him by the neck to shut him up. Apparently, it worked. The blue hedgehog widened his eyes in fear and anger as he kept quiet. However, the criminal didn't care. He got behind Sonic, grabbed him by the neck and then pulled out his combat knife. Then he hid them behind the corner of the wall. What the hell was he up to now? Sonic had no idea what to do. He was trapped. If he did try to make an attempt to escape, then he would end up getting killed. He swift his eyes to the side and saw Tails sitting on the couch unconscious. Yes, he was tied up too.

"_Oh, no",_ Sonic said in thought. _"Not him too."_

Amy continued to tip toe down the hallway quietly and painfully. Everything was quiet, too quiet. Sure the soreness slowed her down, but she used the walls to keep herself up. Suddenly she stopped. A small light was seen near the staircase. Cautiously, she walked all the way down to the end of the hallway; even it made her legs hurt even more. She stopped and sat down on her knees. The light was still on even though it wasn't that bright. Amy panted inaudibly as she got back up. The next challenge was the stairs. She counted and it looked like she had to go down about 20 steps to make it down there. Luckily, there was a stair rail that she can use to walk down easier. She grabbed the wooden rail with her left hand and took some itty-bitty steps down slowly.

Sonic's ears twitched as he heard some footsteps. He began to get worried again. Was there another crazed man up there? No, it wasn't. What if it was Amy? That didn't seem too good, since he figured that the criminal was waiting for her through the whole time. At first, Sonic wanted to get loose from the guy, but he figured what might happen next. But then, he began to use his teeth to take the white cloth off of him. It was too tight, but he then used his tongue to get it off of him. He was able to move his tongue under the cloth and removed it. Then he repeated those steps until is lips were free.

"Amy-!" he screamed but the man covered his mouth.

The pink hedgehog stopped as she reached to her second last step. She thought that she heard someone's voice calling out her name. But then, she heard some mumble from a corner. Inquisitively, she walked forward slowly to the light. Sonic continued to mumble through the man's hand. As of now, the man sensed Amy approaching them. On queue, he appeared out of the corner with Sonic held as hostage. Amy stopped and gasped as she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Patiently, the man in black released his hand from Sonic's mouth.

"**AMY, RUN!"** Sonic yelled out to her.

"Grim", Amy widened her eyes in fear.

Grim held his knife under Sonic's chin and he gasped. Amy starred at her old associate in fear of his life. Sure she didn't love him anymore, but she didn't want him to get killed because of her. However, she had to save him for the first time. But she didn't know that it was Grim's plan to get her attention. He put his knife back in his pocket and Amy starred at him oddly with confusion. Before Sonic thought that he could get away, Grim pounded him with all of his might and knocked him unconscious. Amy growled as she prepared for another fight. But Grim didn't want to fight her. He walked to her as she backed up slowly.

Suddenly, Amy held her stomach in pain and released a small vomit. She thought that she was done puking, but she was incorrect. Grim knew exactly why she was throwing up. He continued to walk to her as she panted hardly. Amy gasped as she looked up. She weakly got up to her feet and held her knife in position.

"Don't come any closer-!" she warned him.

Just then, Grim cruelly slapped the knife out of her hand. Amy let out a small yell in pain as she held her hand in pain. That smack was extremely hard, and it could've broken her hand! She rubbed her hand caringly as she hissed in anger. Conversely, that was the perfect moment for Grim. He grabbed Amy by the shoulders and kissed her. Again, she struggled, but he put his tongue into her mouth and wiggled it around inside. Not surprisingly, Amy felt disgusted. She tried to shove him off of her, but then he wrapped his right arm around her waist to deepen his kiss. What the heck was with that guy? Why does he keep kissing her all of the sudden? Amy had no idea why he was so in love with her, but she didn't like that kiss. But however, the lips felt familiar, as if she felt them before. Somehow, she calmed down.

Grim released his lips and looked at Amy. She had a confused look on her face as starred at him. Gently, he rubbed her right cheek softly with his black rubber glove. His crush swift her eyes to his hand then at him. He knew what she was up to. Amy grabbed his hand, but he wrapped her arms to the back kind of roughly. He pulled her closer and began to kiss her tenderly. Now that Amy was in his grasp again, she couldn't escape. That was until Amy did a slight head butt on him. Their kissing moment ended, but Grim head butted her harder than she ever did to him. He released her and she fell back. Her head felt dizzy again as it ached with pain. All of the sudden, her sight got a little blurry. That wasn't good. Was she about to go into another coma? She didn't want that to happen, no.

Amy rose up slowly as she nursed her head. Before she looked up, she suddenly got pounded on the top of her head. She collapsed and became unconscious. Grim rubbed his hands and looked at her silently. Even though he didn't want to hurt her, there was no other choice. He took her by the feet and pulled her into the living room.

An hour later, Sonic opened his eyes again. He looked to his left and saw Tails still unconscious. He then looked to his right. He gasped loudly, since he didn't have the cloth on him. Sitting right next to him, it was Amy. She was unconscious, had some rope tied up on her with her arms in the back, and she had her head down. Fear and worry were the only things that Sonic felt right about now. What happened to her while he was unconscious? Just then, he recalled that the man in black waited for her and knocked him into some insensibleness. But where was the man anyway?

"Amy", Sonic whispered. "Wake up. Amy", he nudged his right foot to her left.

"Oww", Amy moaned in pain softly. "My leg."

"You're alive", Sonic said in relief.

"Wait, what are you doing here?" Amy turned to him in shock. "And…why are we tied up?"

"Uhh", Tails lastly opened his eyes. "What happened?" he asked himself as he lift his head up. "Oh, my god!" he gasped as he looked forward.

"Huh?" the two hedgehogs looked straight ahead and then gasped.

In front of the three creatures was the same man in black. He had his arms crossed as he starred at them. Tails gulped as Sonic narrowed his eyebrows. Amy growled as she glared at the felon with anger. They were held hostage, but she didn't care.

"Grim", she hissed.

"Grim?" Sonic turned to her. "How do you know him?"

"Let's just say that he and I had a couple of encounters so far", Amy said without looking at him. "And believe me, he's pretty tough."

"So I've noticed", Sonic raised an eyebrow with sarcasim.

"Holy crap", Tails shivered in fear. "He looks really scary."

"What else do you know about him?" Sonic asked Amy.

"I've discovered some things about him", Amy continued. "He's the wanted killer of Station Square, who's been killing innocent women for the past month in a half."

"Are you serious!?" Sonic and Tails asked surprisingly.

"Yeah, but there's more to it", Amy began again. "He kills women as long as they're at the ages of 16 through 29. Not only that he's a killer, but he's also a hustler."

"So are you saying that he's a pimp?" Sonic asked oddly.

"Holy crap!" Tails gasped again in great fear. "He's a psycho pimp, and he's a psycho killer!"

"A pimp, a hustler, all of that", Amy stated. "I'm guessing that the victims he killed were his 'employee's. Just to make this clear, this isn't his first time doing this. He's been doing something like this for about 2 years."

"**TWO YEARS!?"** Tails and Sonic asked loudly in surprise.

"Yeah", Amy nodded. "I wonder where else he's been doing this before he came here. Besides all of that, he's a disgusting little bastard. Even so, he kills at random if he wants to."

"Um, why does he dress up like that?" Tails asked unsteadily.

"Just to hide his identity", Amy shrugged her shoulders. "So that way he wouldn't get caught by the cops."

"Very clever, Amy", Grim spoke.

"He can talk!?" Tails gasped as he turned to him.

"What?" Sonic looked at Grim also.

"Wait…That voice…" Amy whispered.

(Amy's P.O.V):

_Something was definitely weird about that guy. He likes to kiss me, he kidnapped me, and he actually spoke. However, his voice sounded well-known. His lips felt like I've kissed them before. And he even knew my name. At first, I thought he knew that when Sonic yelled out my name. But I was wrong, dead wrong. Then…Something happened…Something very bad, something horrible… (P.O.V. ends)_

Calmly, Grim began to unzip his black jacket. He pulled the zipper down slowly as everyone watched. After that, he removed his hood. At that moment, Amy, Sonic and Tails gasped loudly in shock in fear. They recognized the face. The one that everyone was looking for and who caused the whole madness was…

"Oh, my god", Tails gulped. "Those eyes."

"It can't be", Sonic widened his eyes.

"Sh…Shadow?" Amy barely spoke.

She was right. It was her own lover, Shadow. He twisted his neck and got it back into his shape. Then he removed his jacket and only had on a wife beater shirt. Then he had an evil smirk on his face as he starred at them.

"Surprised?" he asked sarcastically. "Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm…" he giggled evilly as the lightning flashed the sky.

Amy was shock and scared. Sonic glared at him with anger as he growled. Tails only kept his mouth closed as he starred in awe. All three of them now knew who the main man was…

To Be Continued…


	64. Chapter 64:Backround History and Secrets

Ch.64: Background Story and Secrets

Meanwhile, Cosmo ran through the streets of Station Square. The rain began to pour harder as she panted. Through the whole time, she got lost in the jungle a few times, then finds her way out, took a train, and then left the train station. Now she was running to find some help. Amy and the boys were in trouble and she had to find somebody quick! Her knees began to hurt because all of the running, so she stopped and panted. Just then, a police car pulled up next to her. The passenger's window rolled down and a brunette cop's face was seen.

"Hey", he spoke. "Isn't it too cold to be out here?"

"Please help", Cosmo turned to him.

"What's wrong?"

"I know where Amy is."

"You what?! Quick, get in!" he ordered.

"Ok", Cosmo nodded and got in the backseat. "I got a really long story to tell ya."

"Go on and tell", said the brunette cop as his partner started driving again. "Because we need all of the info we can get."

Back with Amy, she continued to stare at Shadow in awe. She felt confused. Was it all a dream? No, it wasn't. Everything around her was happening for real. All Shadow did was giving her some dirty looks on his face. Sonic continued to growl as Tails gulped again. They all had a bad feeling that something was going to happen. Shadow walked to Amy, held up her chin, and kissed her. To Sonic's and Tails' surprise, they never thought he would do that in front of them. However, Shadow didn't care. He slowly released his lips and walked back in his place. Amy looked down with a surprised look on her face.

"What is going on?" she asked fearfully.

"Oh, just something", Shadow brushed his quills a little.

"You", Sonic said in a furious mood. "You're the one behind all of this?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Shadow asked sarcastically.

"But why?" Tails asked. "Why have you been doing those horrible crimes?"

"My, my, my", the black hedgehog crossed his arms. "I guess I have to give a little back ground information, don't I?"

Sonic still had the same angry look on his face. He couldn't believe that Amy's lover was the killer through the whole time. And did he have a sense that he cared? No. The black hedgehog kept the secret through the whole time from her. That began to make Sonic livid. He turned to Amy, who had her head down and her jaws dropped. Then he looked back at the true criminal.

"You better listen up, Amy", Shadow spoke to his girlfriend. "Cause this might answer your questions."

"…" Amy lifts her head up as she starred at him in awe.

"I've been in a few relationships in the past", Shadow began. "Everytime I get with them, they end up leaving me. Once they cheat on me, then they'll cheat on me again. So once I find out about those things, I kill them."

"You're crazy", Tails whispered frightenedly.

"Crazy, huh?" Shadow swift his eyes to him. "Crazy to kill."

"Then what's with the job as being…a pimp?" Sonic asked suspiciously.

"Just to make them suffer", Shadow replied. "Since women like to fuck, I thought that I should give them a job to fuck all they want and bring me some money. And if any of my ho's tries to quit, doesn't do what I say, or cheats on me, then I kill them all."

"You have issues", Sonic glared at him with anger still.

"Look who's talking", Shadow glared back. "You're trying to get with a girl that you broke her heart years ago."

Sonic was silent. He then looked down to his knees. All Shadow said was right. He was trying to work things out with Amy, but he failed. Somehow, he figured that Shadow and Amy had something in common. Still, he felt sorry that Amy was going out with the man of her dreams who was the killer.

"I don't get it", Amy spoke softly. "If you like to kill women, then how come you didn't kill me?"

"I dunno", Shadow pondered. "Maybe because you were different from the other girls. You was too sweet and innocent to kill. That's way I quickly fell in love with you. I faked my kindness and shyness just to lore you into my arms."

"So what we had was fake", Amy guessed.

"I wouldn't say fake", Shadow replied calmly. "Just a sense of love at first site."

Amy looked away as she lowered her head. She was so scared and upset that her lover would keep that secret away from her. When they first met, he seemed like a nice guy. No wonder Sonic and Espio didn't like him, because they had a feeling that he was up to something. If only she listened to them, then she probably wouldn't be in this mess. But no, she fell for his trap. However, she didn't think twice that Shadow still loved her. Now her mind was filled with confusion, anger, and fear.

"Hey, Sonic", Shadow turned to the blue hedgehog with a smirk.

"What?" Sonic hissed.

"You know Sally, right?"

"Why?"

"Hm", Shadow closed his eyes and then opened them. "We had a great fuck a few times."

"**YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!"** Sonic yelled at him angrily as he struggled again. "So it was you that Sally was seeing during our relationship! And you didn't even care how long we've been together!"

"What, you wanna go back to her?" Shadow scoffed.

"I…I dunno", Sonic suddenly calmed down.

"Exactly", Shadow smirked again. "Doesn't that make you feel that you should teach her a lesson?"

"Perhaps I should teach **YOU** a lesson", Sonic glared at him again with strong sense of anger.

Amy shivered in anger as she seethed her breath. Now that really pissed her off. She thought that he loved her, but he cheated on her! Especially to a girl that she hated so much! Then she wondered if he cheated on her with his 'employees' also. Besides her, Sonic was pissed off too. But he did leave Sal, even though they've been together for so long. And yet, he was in love with Amy. He felt confused. Did he want to get back with Sally, or did he want to be with Amy? Tails had his jaws dropped after he heard the whole thing. He was angry that Shadow did all of that behind Amy's back, but he had to keep his cool.

"Bastard", Amy seethed angrily.

"Hm?" Shadow turned to him.

"First you killed some innocent women, and then you tell me that you cheated on me? That's complete bullshit", Amy said furiously.

Sonic and Tails looked at her in shock. They've never heard Amy speak like that! It was hard to believe every single thing that Shadow said. He barely broke her heart. But however, Shadow wasn't ready to let her go YET. He wants her and he feels like he can keep her as long as he likes. After that thought, Shadow walked back to Amy and kissed her roughly and add some tongue in her mouth. She didn't like it, because she knew that he did it with some other girls behind her back. In fact, what if he had something that was incurable!? Sonic watched with anger as Tails looked away from the disgusting scene.

"**PERVERT!"** Sonic yelled angrily. **"LET HER GO!"**

"Make me", Shadow glared at him evilly as Amy panted for some air.

As he continued torturing Amy with his rough kisses, Sonic began to struggle. He was angry, and he wanted to kick his **ASS**! Something was tingling inside of him again. First there was jealous, and then there was anger. And last, he felt something different. The third feeling he felt was to destroy. His heart pounded anxiously as he continued to struggle. Tails looked over and noticed his friend's sudden anger. He looked at him worriedly as he shivered a little.

"_Oh, no",_ he thought. _"It's coming back."_

Shadow released Amy's lips and watches her pant in exhaustion. He was starting to enjoy this. Back then, he kissed her just to make her fall for his traps and it worked. Now he kissed her just to show that he'll never let her go. He was just so damn crazy in love with her. So then, he continued kissing her without running out of breath. Sonic growled as his eyes darkened. Then his blue fur darkened until it turned pitch black. Tails stayed silent as he watched his best friend transform into something horrible. He clearly knew what Sonic was about to change into. Dark Sonic. Just then, Sonic calmed down and his anger stopped. He started waiting for the moment to strike. Tails was shock, because he never thought that Sonic would be able to control his anger like that. Shadow released his lips again and Amy coughed for some air.

"Tastes good, babe", he smirked.

"You're insane", Amy said. "Are you possessed by some kind of evil force that tells you to kill?"

"Maybe", Shadow rolled his eyes. "No matter what you say…no matter who gets in the way…I'll die for you. Why? Because you're love is a one in a million."

"What?" Amy starred at him curiously.

"I got a big question for you", Shadow stepped back a few times.

Amy continued look at him with curiosity. Sonic had his head down just to pretend that he was weak to fight Shadow. Tails had a bad feeling that something was going to happen. He knew what was inside of him; he knew what the next move was. For now, he had to stay silent about it. Hopefully, Sonic would go Dark Sonic on Shadow and not on him and Amy. Slowly, Shadow reached into his left pocket. Then he pulled out a small blue leathered box. Amy widened her eyes in shock. He wasn't going to…yes, he was. Shadow opened the box and there, a silver ring with a small heart-shaped diamond was placed on top of it. Really, it looks too good to be real! He took it out and starred at Amy calmly.

"Amy? Will you marry me?"

At that moment, Amy couldn't speak. She was so surprised that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her! After all of the girls he's been with, she was the one that he chose to be with no matter what. What was she going to say-Yes or No? She was so confused right now, and she was also shock.

With all of the silence building between everyone, Sonic opened his eyes. They weren't green anymore, only they turned into a black color. Tails saw it and knew what was going to happen next. As Shadow approached Amy again, it happened…

To Be Continued…


	65. Chapter 65:Rise of Dark Sonic

Ch.65: Rise of Dark Sonic

With Shadow distracted, Sonic became Dark Sonic, freed himself from the tight rope, and then tackled him down. The ring fell out of Shadow's hand and landed on the ground. Amy only blinked in shock. She has never seen Sonic like that in her whole life! So this was new to her. Shadow growled as he and Dark Sonic rolled round the floor a few times. Then he pinned him down and started choking him. But then, Dark Sonic pounded him on the back roughly and kicked him off. As Shadow fell back, he pinned him down and started punching his face senselessly.

"Oh, god", Tails said with fear.

"What?" Amy turned to him. "What's happening to Sonic?"

"Something unbelievable…and terrible", Tails said slowly.

Shadow grabbed Dark Sonic's left fist before he stroke at him again. Then he gripped him by the neck and kicked him off. Next, he repeated the punches on him. But then, Dark Sonic grabbed his hands and head butted him as hard as he could. Both of them got up on their feet and starting dodging each others attacks. To everyone's surprise, Sonic was faster than before; even Shadow could barely keep up with him!

"Tell me", Amy said to Tails. "I wanna know everything."

"Ok", Tails hopped over to her. "Meanwhile, we'll start untying each other."

"Got it", Amy nodded as she and Tails had their backs in position. "Have you seen anything like this?" she asked as Tails started untying her first.

"It was a looooong time ago", the fox replied.

Dark Sonic vanished as Shadow was about to punch him in the face. The black hedgehog panted as he looked around. Within a blink of an eye, Dark Sonic reappeared and slammed him against the wall! A giant hole was seen behind Shadow. He spitted out some blood and glared at Dark Sonic evilly.

"Is that all you got?" he taunted.

"Don't make me kill you", Sonic said in a dark demon voice.

"Whoa", Amy gasped in fear. "What is that!?"

"Dark Sonic", Tails answered. "Believe me; I've only seen this once."

"When?" Amy asked. "And how did all begin?"

Shadow kneed Dark Sonic in the gut and then kicked him away from him. However, they weren't done yet. Dark Sonic twisted his neck back in place and then charged at his enemy. So then, the battle continued.

"It all started about 9 years ago", Tails began as he started seeing black and white flashbacks. "We were on a new flagship that Eggman made so he could try to take over the world again. We fought the robots very hard so we wouldn't let them take our chaos emeralds. But then, a sudden robot came out of nowhere and knocked you unconscious."

"Wait, I'm starting to remember…" Amy spoke. "What happened while I was unconscious?"

"Well", Tails continued. "While Eggman was laughing at you, Sonic got VERY angry. We could barely see some blood coming out of your forehead. When I turned back to Sonic, he suddenly changed-Like he did right now. After that, he just went out of control! He kept destroying ever robot that he saw in his sight. Not only that, but it was almost like he was possessed. After he took care of all of the robots, he walked to Eggman evilly as he stood there and shivered in fear. Before Sonic could've killed him, Knuckles came up from behind and knocked him unconscious. Moments later, he turned back to normal."

"That's why he was in the hospital for about 2 months", Amy remembered. "And that was the day…When Sonic told me that he didn't love me. I think after that, I got kidnapped by Eggman."

"Correct", Tails answered. "Since then, we kept it as a secret from Sonic so that way he wouldn't know what really was inside of him. Plus, we had to be extremely careful to not make him angry…During his coma; Eggman turned himself in so he wouldn't face Sonic ever again…"

The flashbacks ended as Tails was halfway done untying Amy. That was a surprising story that she has ever heard. Her old crush, her associate, he became a monster. For once, she was scared of him. Tails was frightened too; because this was his second time seeing Sonic like that. Continuing the battle, Shadow and Dark Sonic stopped fighting and took a few steps back. They panted as they starred at each other with hatred. Both of them were in love with Amy and they had to see who would win her heart. Suddenly, Dark Sonic's chest began to ache. He collapsed on his knees as he held it in pain. That was a perfect moment for Shadow to make an attack. As planned, he ran to Dark Sonic, soccer kicked him, and then sent him out of the living room. Amy and Tails gasped as they noticed what just happened. Dark Sonic slid across the floor until he was about 20 feet away from the entrance to the living room. Shadow panted hardly as he wiped the blood off of his face.

"That'll teach him", he said as more blood dripped down from his nose.

Turing to Amy, she gasped. Tails stopped untying her and moved back to where he sat before. Shadow knew what they were doing; they were trying to escape. However, he wasn't going to let his beloved rose go now or ever. He walked to Amy, tugged her by the collar of her shirt and starred at her. She gasped as she tried to gulp for air.

"You know that I love you right?" Shadow smirked. "Well…Do you love me back?"

"…" Amy looked away as she pondered for a moment.

"Tell me!" Shadow hollered as he shook her hardly with aggression.

"I don't know", Amy answered calmly and tried to hold back her tears.

"Is that so?" Shadow whispered in her ear gently.

Angrily, he shoved her and she fell on her back. Strangely, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. Amy looked at him oddly as she noticed the piece of tobacco in his mouth. That was another thing that he hid from her. She didn't like smokers, and she never thought that her 'boyfriend' was a smoker. Shadow sucked all of the smoke and then blew it out to the side. Then he walked to Tails and watched him close his eyes. Roughly, he pulled Tails' blue T-shirt collar and blew some more smoke on his face.

"You ever got a burn from a cigarette before?" Shadow asked evilly.

"No", Tails answered without opening his eyes.

"Really?" Shadow nodded.

At first, he grabbed Tails by the neck and watched him cough for air. Amy struggled to get the rope off of her as she watched. Then Shadow stuck the hot tip of his cigarette onto the fox's right arm. He screamed in pain as Shadow smirked. The burn was starting to injure Tails' fur as he hissed in pain.

"Stop it", Amy commanded. "Leave him alone!"

"Deeper you say?" Shadow asked her sarcastically. "Fine, I will!" he started pressing the cigarette onto Tails' shoulder harder than before.

"**OWW, IT BURNS!!"** Tails hollered in pain.

"You better tell me that you love me or else I'll go for his neck", Shadow hissed at Amy.

"I…I…" Amy tried to speak.

"Very well then", Shadow took the cigarette and stuck it in Tails' wrist.

"**OWW, OWW, OWW, OWW, OWW!!!!"** Tails howled in pain again. **"LEAVE ME ALONE!"**

"Tell her to say that she loves me first!" Shadow ordered.

"Amy…" Tails looked at her weakly.

"_What should I do?"_ Amy asked herself in thought. _"What should I do?"_

Sonic was unconscious after the hard kick he received at his face. Suddenly, his ears twitched. He opened his eyes and only saw the dark brown ceiling. But then, he heard Tails' screaming and then gasped. Then he heard Amy telling Shadow to stop. Once again, Sonic began to get angry. He sat up, transformed into Dark Sonic again, and then got up to his feet.

"**OWWWWWW!!!!"** Tails yelled in pain as the cigarette's burn got deeper.

"You're running out of time, Amy", Shadow said.

"Ok", Amy closed her eyes tightly. "I love you too. Now please let him go."

"That's all I wanted to hear from you baby", Shadow said as he released the cigarette from Tails' arm.

As the orange fox panted, Shadow sat Amy up and then grasped her by the shoulders. Then he began to kiss her slowly and passionately just to make her remember what they've been through. Amy didn't want to remember, even though they've been through a lot. As they continued to make out, Shadow snaked his hands to her back and pulled her closer. Still, Amy didn't want to do this anymore. She wanted someone to get Shadow off of her badly. Just then, Dark Sonic grabbed Shadow, pulled him off of her, and then slammed him against a wall insistently.

**"I'LL KILL YOU FOR TOUCHING HER LIKE THAT!"** Dark Sonic yelled severely.

"Is that so?" Shadow smirked again.

Just then, he kicked him in the leg and got free. Then he tackled Dark Sonic down. Before he stared punching him again, Dark Sonic grabbed his arm and pulled him down to the side. After that, he started crunching his bones madly. Shadow hissed in pain as he could hear his bones crackle. But then, he head butted Dark Sonic from behind and was released. Right after that moment, they got up and started wrestling with each other. Then they released each other and jumped back. Now that Amy was able to continue, she kept struggle herself to get out of the rope. Tails watched them with anger, fear, and worry. Shadow and Dark Sonic took about 10 big steps back. Then they got into their fighting position. After that, they charged at each other as they yelled with rage. Amy and Tails gasped as they watched to see what was going to happen next.

To Be Continued…


	66. Chapter 66:Amy's Decision

Ch.66: Amy's Decision

Dark Sonic and Shadow raised a fist at each other as they coming towards each other. Amy and Tails still watched as they widened their eyes. The two hedgehogs had it with each other. They wanted to end the fight and see who will be the last one standing. Dark Sonic had his right fist in position as Shadow had his left fist ready. But then…They swung their fists at each other slowly.

_"Dammit!"_ Shadow thought angrily. _"When did he get so tough!?"_

_"I must…**DESTROY**!"_ Dark Sonic thought to himself furiously.

"**BASTARD!"** the two hedgehogs yelled angrily.

All of the sudden, they ended up punching each other at the same time. They had their fists locked into each other's cheeks. Both of them had their faces turned after their massive attack. Blood flew out of Shadow's mouth as some flew out of Dark Sonic's mouth. Then they got sent back further away from each other. Shadow ended up sliding across the floor hardly as Dark Sonic was slammed into another wall. After that, they became unconscious. Tails and Amy were silent as they froze. It was such a crazy yet amazing battle that they've ever seen in their lives! Still, both of them were worried about Sonic. Was he dead? Is he going to turn back to normal? Amy felt like everything was her fault. She didn't like violence, but she had to watch the battle until the end. Finally, she was able to get out of the rope and stretched out her arms.

"Gosh…" Tails said softly. "That battle was sure incredible."

"Hm", Amy nodded as she got done stretching. "I wish this didn't have to be this way…"

"I know", Tails turned to her. "I know…"

Amy lowered her head and covered her face. Tails could hear her sniffling and saw a few tears fall out. He felt bad for her because she had a boyfriend who was a killer, and an old friend went so dark to try to save her that he ended up getting hurt. Her life began to crumble with sadness and falsehood. All that she saw with her very own eyes were real. If it was a nightmare, then she would've woken up instantly. But that's what she wishes. Now, she wishes that she could turn things around from the past till now.

Suddenly, Shadow's left hand twitched. He wasn't dead, not yet. He opened his eyes and saw some blood on the floor next to him. Since he didn't see Sonic move an inch, he felt like he won. And now, he could keep Amy as long as he lived. Tails noticed him standing up and gasped. Amy stopped crying and turned to him. She gasped as she got off of the couch and backed away. After Shadow got up, he twisted his neck again, spitted out some blood, and then glared at her evilly. Amy gulped as she hugged her stomach. Just then, she let out another vomit as Shadow and Tails watched.

"I don't feel so good…" Amy said to herself.

"Hm", Shadow smirked. _"I guess the drug is hitting in her stomach area."_

Tails knew what Shadow was up to, so he started struggling to get out of the rope. Since Amy accidentally forgot to untie him, he had to do things on his own. The black hedgehog turned to him and had a meaner look on his face.

"Don't try to be the hero", he spoke.

"Huh?" Tails stopped struggling.

"Besides…You don't want to end up like your friend, do you?" Shadow pointed at the unconscious Sonic.

Tails and Amy turned to Dark Sonic, who was on the floor unconscious. He was lying on his stomach and was silent. They began to think that he was finished, perhaps dead. Both for them were useless now. Amy still had the pain in her body, so she couldn't really fight Shadow. Tails couldn't handle him now because he was still tied up. Even so, he probably would end up getting unconscious again.

"Now", Shadow looked back at Amy. "Where were we?"

"Oh, god", Amy gasped in fear.

"…Come with me, Amy", Shadow offered a hand.

"What?" Amy asked with shivers.

"Let us leave these pathetic creatures behind", Shadow spoke again. "The money's waiting for us, baby. I'll get you whatever you want. Name it, and I'll give it to you in a flash. Come on…Don't chu love me anymore?" he said with an evil grin.

"…" Amy looked away silently. "……."

"Yeah, I cheated on you, so what?" Shadow asked sarcastically. "But I don't love them as much as I love you. You're perfect, a portrait of heaven. If you give me a chance, then you won't see me as a bad guy after all. Whaddya say?"

"_Don't say yes, Amy",_ Tails thought as he glared at Shadow angrily.

"Hmph", Shadow rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me that you have feelings for that weakling. Besides, how do you know that he loves you like I do?"

"Because it's the truth", a weak voice said.

Furiously, Shadow looked at his right. Amy and Tails turned to that direction too. Then they gasped in shock. They saw Dark Sonic rising up to his knees. Then he got up to his feet. He wobbled a little, but he was able to hold himself together. Hardly, he panted as he held his chest in pain. He was still alive! But Shadow was NOT happy about it. He thought that he killed him, but he was wrong. Suddenly, Dark Sonic looked at Shadow with the same angry look in his eyes.

"Sonic…" Amy and Tails whispered in surprise.

"You're still alive?" Shadow asked rudely.

"Oh, yeah", Dark Sonic said as his voice turned back to normal. "And man, I got a lot of explaining to do."

"…" Amy starred at him quietly in shock.

"Love…That's the most important emotion in the world, right?" Dark Sonic began. "Well, it's only shared by two people that feel for each other very much. But what it see from you, Shadow, you don't love her. You only want her want her for yourself, nothing to do with the affection between you guys-,"

"Mind your own damn business", Shadow hissed at him. "Then what do you call when you try to win someone's heart that she doesn't love back?"

"…A crush", Dark Sonic answered. "I remember that Amy was crazy in love with me a long time ago. However, I didn't return her feelings because I didn't feel some affection between us. It wasn't building up between us and I feared that it wouldn't work out."

"_Now I see",_ Amy figured out. _"He didn't dump because he didn't like me back. He did that because we didn't have the same devotion for each other."_

"Please" Shadow scoffed. "And you're telling me that you love her?"

"I love her as much as I will die for her", Dark Sonic answered in a serious tone.

Amy gasped after what he just said. She was surprised that he would speak like that. Although, she was able to figure out why she and Sonic couldn't work out a long time ago. So then, she began to think to herself. Tails had his jaws dropped in shock as he blinked twice. He was also shock of what Sonic just said! As for Shadow, he thought of it as a joke.

"I know that I screwed up in the past…" Dark Sonic continued. "But there's always a chance to start over. Life is short. If I don't do something to make things up now, then what?"

Amy and Tails clearly understood him. All of them had the same conversation towards each other. First, Amy shared that kind of explanation to Tails. Then Tails repeated those words to Sonic. And now, he was saying what he just learned. Shadow crossed his arms and began to tap his left foot impatiently.

"I never thought that you would Amy get with a guy with you", Dark Sonic lowered his voice with anger. "A man must never lie and cheat on his woman. Then that means that you don't care about her. If you didn't love her, you would've told her. Well, that's what I did, because I didn't wan the worse to happen between us."

"Sonic…" Amy whispered to herself.

"I mean, who wants to be with a guy like you?" Dark Sonic said to Shadow unhappily. "A killer, who's also a sick PERVERT and hustles young women for money, do you think that Amy wants a man like that?! Hell no! All she wants is love, an affection to show to someone who cares for her, and that's NOT YOU."

"!!" Amy widened her eyes again as she blushed a little.

"If I had to take a chance…to be with Amy…then I'll take that chance", Dark Sonic spoke. "Because I need her in my life. And she needs someone in her's."

At that moment, everyone was silent. Tails still had his jaws dropped as Amy looked at Sonic in deep shock. Shadow just rolled his eyes and swift his eyes to the wall next to him. However, all Sonic said was true and right. Now Amy knew a lot about love. After all of that time that they haven't been together, he wants to start things over with her! She was surprised but also happy. An old feeling was returning to her. All of those memories; when they fought against Eggman, when some goofy situations occurred between them, but most of all…their friendship. Finally, she was able to find her true love. She opened her eyes as a smile came up on her face.

"That is so fake", Shadow shrugged his shoulders. "As if Amy would go out with you."

"Boy, you don't know a lot", Amy looked at him venomously.

"Huh?" Shadow turned to her in shock.

"I'm experiencing so much right about now", Amy closed her eyes as she crossed her arms. "Love, hate, jealousy…It's crazy. And here, I never thought that two guys would fight over me. I'm shocked. Only one of them is my true love."

"Who?" Shadow, Sonic and Tails asked in union.

"Hm", Amy opened her eyes. "I choose Sonic", she turned to him with a warming smile.

"What?" Shadow asked with an angry face.

"He's trustworthy, he's honest, probably the guy that God is giving me", Amy spoke. "So, Sonic. I do want to start things over with us. I love you." She then gave Sonic a cheerful wink like he always did for her when she felt down.

Dark Sonic widened his eyes. He almost thought she was going to say no to him, but she actually said yes! Tails sighed in relief, because he didn't want Amy to end up with a psycho for the rest of her life. Was Amy sure? Apparently, she was. Since Sonic told the truth, she chose him. She couldn't choose Shadow because he was the criminal, he cheated on her, and he was very aggressive. Magically, Sonic turned back to normal as he continued to stare at Amy in awe. His fur color was blue again, his eye color turned back to his natural green color, and his skin changed back into his bright peach color.

"Amy", Sonic smiled with tears. "I love you too."

"**YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!!"** Shadow yelled out to the ceiling in anger.

Everyone turned to him in fear and anger after the moment was ruined. Shadow glared at Sonic with hatred and clenched his fists. Tails gulped as Sonic got back into his fighting position. Suddenly, Shadow's streaks adn eyes turned crimson as he growled fearsomely. Then he charged at the blue hedgehog. Before Sonic took just one step forward, Shadow had him by the neck and slammed him back to the wall. The hole was now bigger than it was before. Angrily, Shadow punched Sonic in the stomach and watched him gasp out some blood. Then he became unconscious. Slowly, Shadow released Sonic and he slid down to the floor.

"Oh, my god!" Tails gasped in fear.

"Shit", Amy shivered in fear.

"So that's what I get, huh?" Shadow asked in a darker voice. "After all I did and gave you, you're just going to say no?" He turned around to Amy with his evil crimson red eyes filled with lust. "You have no idea what I'm about to do to you right now."

"Run, Amy, run!" Tails turned to her.

Frightenedly, Amy turned around and rushed out of the living room. Shadow was able to catch up with her by his new sudden speed. He grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her against the wall. She coughed out some blood as she lowered her head.

"Where're you going, baby?" Shadow asked with an evil smirk. "Besides, I'm not done with you yet", he pulls her hair and drags her up the stairs.

"**NO!"** Amy begged. **"LET ME GO!"**

"Oh, no!" Tails started struggling again aggressively.

Quickly as possible, he was able to undo the knot to his rope. Effectively, he opened his arms and set himself free. After that, he went to check on Sonic, who was still on the ground.

"Sonic, wake up! Amy needs help!" he shook the blue hedgehog.

"What?" Sonic opened his eyes and got up slowly. "Where is she?"

Just then, they heard a loud scream from Amy. The lightning burst the sky and flashed through the windows furiously. The thunder roared loudly as Sonic and Tails gasped. They were about to rush out until Sonic stopped. Then he ran to Shadow's big black jacket and searched the pockets. Then he pulled out a small magnum revolver and then nodded. Tails waited as he hopped up and down impatiently.

"Come on!" Sonic said as he ran up the stairs.

"Wait up!" Tails followed.

Upstairs, Shadow pinned Amy onto the bed as she struggled to get free. However, he was too strong for her. In fact, he was much stronger than before! At that moment, she clearly knew what was going to happen.

"You know, I enjoyed playing with your body while you was unconscious", Shadow smirked.

"Wait", Amy gasped as she looked at him. "You mean-,"

"Yes, and I'll do it again!" Shadow choked her and watched her squirm.

Then he threw her back down and began to reach down for her pants. Amy smacked him across the face but then he bitch-slapped her back. The two started wrestling each other as they grunted in anger. But then, Shadow gripped her by the neck and choked her senselessly. He then used his free hand to unzip her pants. Suddenly, he stopped before he could've pulled them all the way down. Amy opened her eyes and noticed that he hasn't gone further yet. She was expecting something horrible to happen, but it didn't! She turned her head over to her right and gasped.

To Be Continued…


	67. Chapter 67:Blood and Tears

Ch.67: Blood and Tears

"**BACK…THE FUCK OFF!"** Sonic yelled heatedly.

Surprisingly, he made it just in time before Amy could've gone into deep trouble. He had the magnum revolver pointed at Shadow's head. Shadow swift his eyes to the blue hedgehog as he panted angrily. Tails was behind him, who watched the whole scene with fear and worry. Surrendering himself, Shadow got off of Amy and stepped away from the bed. The pink hedgehog quickly pulled up her pants, zipped them back up, and then ran and hid behind Tails. The three began to walk backwards.

"Don't move", Sonic threatened.

"Whaddya gonna do, kill me?" Shadow asked sarcastically. "Come on, Mr. Hero, pull the trigger."

Sonic and the others stopped after they heard what he just said. At first, he wanted to kill Shadow, but he didn't. If he did, he might have to face some charges, which depends. Plus, the police had to find out who he really is so they can be on a look out on him. And as for Amy, she might not ever speak to him again. Him with a gun!? That was the most shocking thing that Amy and Tails were seeing right now. Just then, Sonic lowered the gun as he continued to stare at Shadow viciously. All the black hedgehog did was cross his arms and glared back.

"Let's get out of here", Tails seethed through his teeth nervously.

"Hm", Sonic nodded.

He, Amy, and Tails left the room and closed the door. Before they took off, Sonic locked it as tight as he could just in case. Suddenly, Amy began to feel the pain in her legs again. Tails and Sonic wrapped their arms around her and they started walking down the hallway. Carefully, they walked down the stairs until they reached to the exit to the living room.

"Can I sit down right quick?" Amy asked nicely.

"Yeah", Sonic nodded. "I got her", he turned to Tails.

"Ok", the fox let him take Amy.

Sonic walked Amy to a chair that was at a wall further in front of them. Gently, he sat her down as she hissed in pain. She rubbed her shoulders then at on her legs.

"You ok?" Sonic asked calmly.

"Yeah", Amy nodded. "Thanks."

"Heck", Sonic winked with a cute smile. "A hero always comes before the last minute, right?"

"Yeah, you can say that", Amy smiled at him.

Suddenly, they were silent. She and Sonic began to look into each others eyes passionately. Tails turned around and took two big steps forward since he knew what was about to happen. Sonic helped Amy up to her feet as they continued to stare. After that, Tails took another giant step forward. Sonic threw the gun away and placed his hands onto Amy's shoulders lightly. Amy wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes. Then Sonic shuts his eyes and leans for her lips. Finally, the moment that they've been waiting for through their whole lives. The two hedgehogs began to kiss each other as they hugged each other tightly.

"_Well, at least they're happy",_ Tails thought with a few nods and a cheeful smile.

But then, the romantic moment soon ended. Sonic was suddenly dragged away by Amy, kicked in the stomach, and then got slammed against another wall. Tails turned around and Amy gasped. Shadow was back, and he started choking the life out of Sonic.

"Don't touch my woman", Shadow growled furiously as he pulled out his combat knife.

"Sonic!" Tails gasped in fear.

"_Great",_ Amy thought angrily. _"Now what?!"_

Amy looked over to her right and then widened her eyes. She saw her switchblade on the ground, obviously hasn't been picked up in a long time. Lucky, Shadow must've forgotten it! In a hurry, she kneeled down and picked up her switchblade. The sharp tool was ready to go. Shadow was about to stab Sonic until he stopped him by grabbing a hold of his hand. Both of them growled until Shadow started gripping Sonic's neck tighter to make him gasp for air.

"Shadow", Amy starred angrily.

"Hmph", Shadow looked back and released Sonic. "How cute, my own girlfriend with a knife. You think you can kill me with that?"

"…I can try", Amy answered coldly.

"Oh, my god!" Tails gasped.

"Amy, no!" Sonic reached his hand out for her.

"Fine by me!" Shadow charged at Amy.

"Grr!!" Amy charged at him too.

**"NO!"** Sonic yelled for her to stop.

What is she, crazy?! How can she be able to kill him!? There was nothing else they could do. Sonic and Tails watched without blinking. They watched with horror and worry. Just then, Shadow and Amy stopped as their bodies were close to each other. Sounds of guts being stabbed echoed through the whole room. The blue hedgehog widened his eyes as a tear fell out. Tails covered his mouth so he wouldn't scream.

Amy's chin was on Shadow's right shoulder as his chin was on her left. Blood was raining down to the ground from their stomachs. They stabbed each other, and they were out of strength. The knives were in their stomachs deeply and only the handles were still shown. Suddenly, their eye sights got blurry. Tears began to fall from their eyes. But then, they saw memories. All of them; from the beginning for their relationship until the end. When they first met, when Shadow first asked Amy out, when they first shared their kiss, the wonderful places they that went together, all of the love and passion that they had for each other, and now…Their tragic death. Slowly, Amy and Shadow dropped to their knees and had their heads down. After that, they fall to the side.

"_Why?"_ Amy asked in thought as she was about to land on her right.

"_How could you?"_ Shadow asked in thought as he was fainting to his right.

Finally, both of them collapsed to the side. Tails gasped and Sonic gasped also. Just then, Amy's eyes closed themselves slowly. Shadow's eyes closed themselves too. Anxiously, Sonic got up on his feet and rushed to Amy. He then gasped and dropped down to his knees. Slowly he turned Amy on her back. There, a knife was deep inside her stomach as she laid there, dead.

"No, Amy!" Sonic cried and carefully pulled the knife out of her belly. "Amy, please, wake up!" he sat her head on his knees. "Amy?"

"Oh, no", Tails shook his head in sorrow.

"Come on, Amy, stay with us!" Sonic begged with huge tears. "Don't leave us, we love you!"

The pink hedgehog was silent. She didn't move an inch nor did she open her eyes. Now Sonic was very worried. He gently laid her on the floor and then held her cheeks. He opened her mouth and then placed his lips in position. Then he began to perform CPR hardly and hurriedly. Tails watched as tears fell out. Then he looked away so wouldn't continue to gaze at this dramatic scene. Sonic breathed into Amy's mouth as hard as he could. Then he pressed his hands on her chest. After that, he released some more air into her lips. Suddenly, he stopped. He lifts his head up and starred at the pink hedgehog. He was too late, she was dead. But he wished that he would end up getting killed not her. Now, she lays in peace. Sonic sobbed sadly as he rested his head on her chest and covered his face with his arms. Tails whimpered as he tried to hold back his sobs.

"**NO!"** Sonic yelled sadly. "Come back to me! Don't leave me! I love you, Amy! I don't want to lose you! Please…Don't die…!"

Amy still had her eyes closed as Sonic continued to shed his tears in sorrow. It was such a horrible incident that she's been through. If only she didn't take that chance, then she would still be alive. But no, she was gone. Tails held his chest in pain as he sobbed quietly to himself. Sonic suddenly stopped crying and looked at his beloved. He couldn't save her, and it was no use. Just then, he looked to his right and saw the same knife that killed her. It was on the floor, covered in her regular red blood. Charily, he took it and starred at his reflection. Tails looked at his best friend and stopped crying too. He gasped since he figured what Sonic was going to do.

"If you're going up there…" Sonic held up the knife.

"Sonic, no!" Tails rushed to him.

"Then I'll join up there with you!" Sonic closed his eyes tightly. He flipped the knife over to get the blade to point at his chest. Tails was almost there to stop him until…

To Be Continued…


	68. Chapter 68:Vanished

Ch.68: Vanished

A hand suddenly stopped Sonic from killing himself. He gasped and looked down. Tails gasped also as he stopped running. Both of them looked down and saw Amy, who had her hand wrapped around Sonic's wrist tightly.

"Don't even think about it", she seethed in pain as she opened her right eye.

"Amy you're alive!" Sonic gasped happily.

"Phew!" Tails wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Oh, thank god", Sonic pulled Amy up to her feet.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Amy hissed in pain.

"Sorry", Sonic held her by the shoulder. "I thought that…you were gone."

"I guess I was able to get a second chance", Amy said as she held her stomach.

"Hold on", Sonic said.

Carefully, he down on his left knee. The Amy got on his back and held on. Slowly, he rose up as he sighed. Sure he had to deal wiht the blood getting all over his clothes, but he didn't care. He was so glad to find Amy well. Tails was glad too, but wondered about Shadow. He looked over at the black hedgehog, who hasn't moved an inch yet.

"Is he dead?" Tails pointed at the dead Shadow.

"I think so", Amy looked to make sure. "Besides, I stabbed him as hard as he stabbed me. Thanks to Sonic's special CPR performance, I was able to live."

"Oh, well", Sonic shrugged his shoulders. "Let's get outta here."

"You can say that again", Tails chuckled as he led the way. "I'm getting sick of this place."

"Scaredy cat", Sonic and Amy teased in union.

"Hey!" Tails complained.

The two hedgehogs laughed as Tails shrugged. Amy looked back and saw that Shadow was dead. Sure she felt sorry for him, but there was no other choice. Tails opened the door and let them out first. Then he walked out and closed the door behind him. Outside, it was still raining with a few thunder rumbles. Sonic and Tails began to walk away from the house until they heard a voice.

**"SONIC!"**

"Huh?" Sonic, Amy, and Tails looked around.

**"TAILS!"** the same female voice called out.

**"YO! HOLLA IF YA HERE ME!"** another voice said in his fake gangster accent.

"Guys?" Amy asked weakly.

"Look!" Tails pointed forward.

Deep within the trees, they saw some lights from flashlights. They counted and it looked like there were about 15 of them. Whose voices were they? And how did they find them? Sonic and Tails ran as fast as they could to follow the flashlights. They stopped and panted as they saw a group. The group had Cosmo, Espio, Charmy, Mighty, Vector, Knuckles, Rouge, Silver, Blaze, Cream, ten police officers, and a couple of doctors all together.

"Hey!" Sonic called out.

"Over here!" Tails waved.

"It's them!" Rouge pointed happily.

**"YEEEESSSS!"** Knuckles cheered. "My homies lived!"

"Tails!" Cosmo ran to the fox happily.

"Cosmo!" Tails ran to her.

Both of them gave each other a big hug. They were so glad to see each other. Cosmo was mostly delighted to find him alive. Amy and Sonic smiled at the cute scene between Tails and Cosmo. Rouge wrapped an arm around Knuckles as he snickered. The Chaotix watched with joy as the others nodded with happiness.

"What took you so long?" Tails asked.

"Sorry", Cosmo answered. "I got lost on the way, then I met the police, they had to gather the crew, I bumped into some friends, and um…yeah."

"That's good", Tails released Cosmo.

All of the sudden, he looked into her light blue eyes. Cosmo starred at him joy with a blush on her face. Even though they broke up, they felt like they can start over. Tails gulped as his cheeks glowed red. Cosmo looked away shyly as she fiddled with her fingers.

"So, I uh-," they began in union. "No, I uh-Well, you first. No, you start."

"Go", Cosmo offered.

"Ok", Tails scratched the back of his head. "Look…I know that we broke up some time ago, and um…it was pretty hard to handle."

"Yeah, I know", Cosmo said in guilt. "I mean, I can't believe that it happened. I feel stupid."

"Hey", Tails lift her chin up softly. "We can always start over."

"…Cool", Cosmo smiled.

"Aaww…" everyone said joyfully.

"Wait, what are you looking at!?" Tails looked around with a big red blush on his face.

"You know", Sonic and the others replied wtih tease.

"Anyway", Espio shrugged his shoulders and walked to Sonic. "What happened?"

"It's a long story", Sonic shook his head.

"Lemme see her", Espio looked over at Amy.

"Ok", the pink hedgehog got off of Sonic's back slowly. "Aah-oww!" she hissed in pain as she held her bloody stomach.

"Holy shit!" Espio gasped as he caught her fall. "What the hell happened?!"

"Gah, she's been stabbed!" Vector and Charmy shrieked in fear.

"Whoa", Mighty shook his head. "You look a mess-,"

Suddenly, Knuckles nudged him hardly and cleared his throat. Rouge cleared her throat too as she glared at him angrily. Mighty chuckled nervously as he rubbed his right arm.

"I mean, uh…you lived."

"Who did this to you?" Espio asked as he held Amy up by the shoulders.

"It…was…" Amy tried to speak.

"-Shadow", Sonic answered coldly.

Just then, Espio widened his eyes in shock. Now he knew that Shadow was the killer. He was able to see it at first, but not all the way. If only he would've been there, then his friend wouldn't be in this condition. He began to feel angry, most of all, pissed off. He did warn Shadow if he ever did something horrible to her, then he would get it. So now, Espio was going to show it what he means. He stood up and looked at the house further behind Sonic.

"Let's go", Espio ordered as he dashed to the house.

"Let's move move move!" Officer Jeff commanded as he and the other police men followed him.

"Is there a doctor in the house?" Sonic asked.

"We can help", a doctor with short brown hair said as he and a blonde assistant came up to Amy.

Gently, they laid Amy down on the ground as she continued to hiss in pain. The brunette doctor put on a couple of rubber gloves and then reached into his pockets. His assistant held Amy up slowly and laid her head on his knees. Then the doctor pulled out some large bandages and began to wrap them around Amy's stomach area under her shirt. Sonic and the others watched worriedly, hoping that she would be ok. Once the doctor got done, the assistant put on his rubber gloves and then pulled out a needle filled with medicine.

"This will help ease the pain", he said nicely. "But it'll put you to sleep for a while. Because when you get to the hospital, we have a few things to do to keep you alive."

"That's fine by me", Amy hugged her stomach soothingly.

The doctor nodded and the assistant nodded back. Sonic kneeled down for Amy and stroke her cheek. She gave him a wink and a classic thumb's like he used to do. The assistant moved Amy's left sleeve of her shirt slowly. Then he stuck the needle inside her carefully. As he pushed the medicine in, Amy began to feel drowsy. Then she closed her eyes and went into another coma. This time, for the good's sake. With everything done, Sonic and Tails picked Amy up and held her up by the arms. Then Sonic took her and carried her on his back again. A couple of minutes later, Espio came back with the police men. Everyone looked at them, relieved that they survived. However, no one had a smile on their faces. Espio walked to Sonic and shook his head.

"He's gone."

"What?!" Sonic gasped in fear.

"That can't be!" Tails ran up to Espio. "Are you telling us that he's still alive!?"

"It's possible", Espio replied. "We searched all over the house and found nothing. Only blood and holes in the walls."

"Yeah, there was a battle here and there", Sonic explained.

"This is weird", Cream slapped her forehead softly.

"But I found these", Espio spoke.

First, he pulled out a knife in a plastic bag. It was covered with blood that looked much darker than Amy's. Obviously, it was Shadow's. Sonic gasped as Tails fainted because of the disgusting glare at all of the blood. Second, Espio pulled out a piece of paper out of his pocket. He opened it so Sonic wouldn't have to use his arms while he was carrying Amy. After that, Espio let Sonic read it to himself. He gasped in shock and fear.

_-I'll be back-_

"No", Sonic said softly. "How can this be? When will this end?"

Meanwhile, Shadow was still alive as he walked his way from the house. He was able to take off right after Amy and the others got away. He held his bloody stomach in pain as he panted exhaustedly. No one knew that he would live like that! If Amy lived, then it was possibly fair to bring him back to life, right? In the cold rain, he walked down a long muddy path, leaving drops of blood that sealed into. Taking a break, he laid his right shoulder on the tree bark as he continued to pant. As of today, he despised Sonic and still wanted Amy. Of course, he hasn't given up just yet. Not that easily, no way.

"I'm not...dead yet...I…will…return…I'll…be…back", Shadow said to himself with anger as his eyes turned crimson again.

After his little break, Shadow continued to walk down the path, without looking back. He had to find a safe place to hide in order to get away from the cops. In the meantime, he had to recover, and think of a way of how to get Amy back and to kill Sonic. So then, he vanished within the woods. He was never seen again after that….

To Be Continued…


	69. Chapter 69:Not Giving Up

Ch.69: Not Giving Up

(Amy's P.O.V.)

_A few weeks have passed after the incident at the Mystic Ruins. Ever since the Chaotix told the police and the mayor about the 'real killer', there have been a few changes around the city. Now in the nighttime, no one wants to hang around in the streets, nor did they want to throw a weekend party. Each night, the cops would roll around the streets until midnight. Luckily, the city government took an offer to pay their gas. Also, most of the women in the town started buying some peppermint sprays and everything just in case. But they didn't need to buy all of that. After all, he's aftering me. I couldn't believe that I let him trick me like that. First there was love, and then there was drama, and now this. I've never failed a case in my whole life. But this was my first time, hopefully my last. Suddenly, I began to doubt myself of finding happiness… (P.O.V. ends)_

Amy was standing at the bridge as she looked down at the river. She was able to leave the hospital a while ago after they gave her some stitches on her belly button area and a blood transfusion. After she got back, she hasn't spoken to anyone, or bothered to look into their eyes. All she felt inside were fear, anger, and dishonesty. She starred at the sunset and then back at the river. Suddenly, someone came up next to her and wrapped an arm around the shoulder. She gasped as she looked to her left. Thankfully, it was Sonic. He was starring at the sunset too as the wind swift his quills slowly. Amy sighed in relief and continued to look down at the river.

"I see that you're ok", Sonic spoke. "I haven't heard from you ever since you left the hospital."

"Hm", Amy nodded.

"You ok?"

"No."

"Oh…I see."

"I've never failed a case before", Amy said with guilt. "I wonder what the city thinks of me now."

"They're not mad at you, that's all I can explain", Sonic noted. "But at least the city now knows the main deal about him. Thank God that the mayor decided to take things seriously."

"Yeah", Amy nodded again. "I feel so damn stupid."

"Why do you say that?" Sonic turned to her confusingly.

"Cause I took my focus off the case and decided to hang with Shadow", Amy answered softly. "He got away, right? Who knows what could happen. I'm guessing that he'll come after me again."

"Amy", Sonic held her closely. "You don't have to worry about him now. Besides, if he comes back, then I'll take care of him."

"Are you serious?" Amy asked.

"If it takes the rest of my life to defeat him and keep you safe…Then I'll do it", Sonic vowed.

Amy swift her eyes to Sonic then back at the river. She never thought that he would say such words like that. At first, she thought that he was crazy to think of something like that. But still, she was glad to have someone by her side. If Shadow does come back, then she has to face her fear no matter what. In the meantime, she had to get her life back together. She sighed as she nodded slowly.

"Fine", she spoke. "If that's what you want to do-,"

"I'll do anything for you", Sonic turned to her and held her hands. "I don't care if it costs my life, because all that matters is that I love you. That's all that matters."

"…If that's what you wish to do", Amy looked at him.

"Yes", Sonic said and hugged her tightly.

"Ok", Amy hugged back. _"I sure hope that things will go well in the future",_ she thought nervously. _"But for now, I need to rest. If he does come back…then I'll be ready."_

Deep within the Mystic Ruins, a small bricked cabin stood in its place. Inside, Shadow laid on the couch in his coma. That is, until he opened his eyes. He looked around and found out that he was in a half empty place. He sat up, but laid back down because of the pain in his stomach area. Lots of white bandages were wrapped around him as he held his stomach in pain.

"Ah, I see that you're awake", a voice suddenly spoke.

"Who said that?" Shadow sat up and looked around. "Show yourself", he demanded furiously.

"Now, now", the voice said at a dark corner in front of Shadow. "Is that a friendly way to say 'thank you' to someone who saved your life?"

"I'm surprised that you bothered to help me out", Shadow replied.

"Well, now", the voice said as nicely as it could. "I couldn't just let ya lay out there in your own pile of blood, could I?"

"Well, don't expect us to be friends", the black hedgehog spoke back rudely.

"Hm", the voice said. "We have the same eyes, even though they're in different colors. Our eyes are filled with hatred, desire, and revenge. Mind sharing a little background story?"

"…" Shadow looked away from the corner and then down at his knees. "There's this woman that I'm in love with, but she turned me down because I was a 'bad guy'. Then she chose someone else over me, right in front of my face."

"That sucks", the voice scoffed. "And who is this woman, and the man she chose over you?"

"The woman that I'm in love with is Amy Rose", Shadow explained. "And the man that she chose over me for, that I also want to kill, is Sonic the Hedgehog", he said as he held his pants tightly.

"I see", the voice answered. "You know, I bet I can help you out with your little problem. If you need to know, I'm one of Sonic's oldest rivals. I was defeated by him once, but I took a break, and I see the time of revenge has come for us."

"Who are you anyway?" Shadow asked.

Stepping out of the dark corner was a different colored hedgehog. He was green, with blue eyes, and had on dark green and black boots. He had on a black leather jacket with flame prints on the sleeves, a pair of black-rimmed glasses that was on top of his ears, and a couple of scars on his chest. At first, Shadow thought that it was Sonic, but he was wrong. It almost looked like him, except the opposite colors of the eyes and the fur.

"Name's Scourge", the green hedgehog greeted himself. "Scourge the Hedgehog. And you?"

"Hmph", Shadow crossed his arms. "My name is Shadow…Shadow the Hedgehog…a.k.a., Grim."

**_To Be Concluded…_**


	70. Special Thanks and Author Notes

**Special Thanks and Author's Notes**

**-Ok, thank you for reading this fanfic. Yeah, there were some twists here and there, so what? I mean, goddammit, this is my fanfic. Excuse the language, but I can't stand flames. For those who has been reading this story and liked it, thanks for begins to kind, unlike some assholes. Shit, well, I betcha have a lot of questions for me. So I'll answer them so that way you don't have to send a review or anything. If I don't answer any of your upcoming questions, just send in a review. And here's what I'm thinking that ya might ask…**

1)"_How did you come up with this story?"_

**My answer: Well, I was bored. And I saw a few CSI episodes here and there, then I saw this mystery movie called 'Taking Lives' with Angelina Jolie in it, and I thought of a cool Sonic fic like that, but in a different plot and stuff.**

2)"_What's with the Espio+Amy-ness?"_

**My answer: LOL, good question! Well, I didn't want to make them 'a couple', but I thought of putting in some funny scenes and somewhat friendship showings between Espio and Amy. But they're just friends, kind of like partners, teammates, and yeah…**

3)"_How many did the 'killer' kill in this story?"_

**My answer: Whoops, I forgot to do the math. Um…About 20 chicks and one dude. Wow, not what ya were expecting, huh? **

4)"_So you like Tails+Cosmo, huh?"_

**My answer: Hell yeah I do! I know that they broke up at the beginning of this story, but at least I was glad enough to get them back together. Sorry for not putting any kissing scenes. (Don't complain)…**

5)"_Do you not like Sally?"_

**My answer: I used to, but you know, time's has changed and all, so yeah…I mean, a couple episodes of the old SatAM Sonic shows, she would act a little impatient and mean at some sort. But heck, making her as a meanie in this story was kinda fun! **

6)"_Why did you make Knuckles gangster???"_

**My answer: Because I thought it would be cute. **

7)"_So what happened to Lucia, Ana, Shin, and his family?"_

**My answer: Lucia and Ana went back to their old home with Lucia's parents. Shin and his family are ok at the dojo still. But all of them still had to be on a look out.**

8)"_Why'd you make Shadow as the killer?"_

**My answer: Whoa, big question there! As some may know, a lot of reviews knew what was coming. And heck, can't take the twists in turns? Shit. Come on, stories are supposed to excite ya! And goddamn, this is fanfiction, duh! Anyway, yeah, whatever…I mean, there's PLENTY of ShadAmy stories, and other pairing stories that turns bad like that.**

9)"_Is there gonna be part 2?"_

**My answer: I thought you may never ask! Yes, there will be a part 2 to this story! And maybe a sequel after that, but it's not gonna be called 'Detective Rose'. And ya probably might know what's going to happen, right? RIGHT? However, I'm not going to start on it so soon, so I'm sorry for that. Before you ask why, because I'm though of writing another Sonic fanfic. For more info, just send in a review, because I don't want to spoil anyone…**

10)"_Who is Scourge?"_

**My answer: Yeah, I kinda guessed that a few might not know who he is. If you do, sweet, but some people need to know, so allow me answer the question . Anyway, Scourge is an Evil Sonic character that appears in the Sonic the Comic. He does look like him, except he's green with blue eyes, and kinda dresses up like a biker dude, which that's pretty cool. Plus, he can pretty much use the same skills as Sonic! Nice…**

**-And now, I'm going to give a special thanks to those who gave me nice reviews and stuff. First off, those who faved this story:**

'**BreezieDae'**

'**ChiakitheHedgehogKoniochi'**

'**CrazyShadAmyFan'**

'**Ice-Cold-Bunni**

'**LuigixDaisyfan'**

'**MaddieRose'**

'**Sapphire the Hedgehog'**

'**Shelby the Hedgehog'**

'**SilverFan'**

'**Sonic2598'**

'**Super Leeon'**

'**Warrior of Fanfiction'**

'**Xtrasupershadowgirl'**

'**cuitegirl30109'**

'**Shadesoflightanddark'**

'**Sonamygirl92'**

'**Sweetlilprincess Shortie'**

**-Now, for those who alerted this fic:**

'**Armageddemon'**

'**BehindtheShadow'**

'**Elys'**

'**Ice-Cold-Bunni'**

'**Lady Roses'**

'**Nikki-chan the one and only'**

'**Project Shadow'**

'**Sam Brody or Moon Princess'**

'**Swekyde'**

'**Turbo-the-Chipmunk'**

'**Xtrasupershadowgirl'**

'**Cutiegirl30109'**

**-For those who always reviewed the story:**

**Well, most everybody and 'Silent Kitten', 'NarutoSonicgirl', 'Guardian of Balance', 'Stacie Orico', and that's about it.**

**--Like OMG, this is like my first ever fanfic that received over 100 reviews, 10 fave's, and 10 alerts!!! AWESOME, I LOVE YOU ALL!!! WELP, THANKS FOR READING! REMEMBER, IF YOU SEE A NEW FANFIC WITH MY NAME NEXT TO THE TITLE, THEN YOU'LL KNOW THAT YOU'LL READ ANOTHER GOOD STORY.**


	71. Today's Personal Thoughts on this Story

_**READ IT! READ IT! READ IT NOW! AND READ THIS CLOSELY!**_

-Hey there, folks. It is I, Anime2Videogames (although I have thoughts on coming with a new name). Right, now that the introduction's out of the way, I thought I would sit down and tell you guys something that has been in my mind for quite some time…

Looking back at this story.

(Puts on some **Nirvana** music on my computer, because it's one of my favorite bands, no matter what!)

Ok, I will admit this, when I first started on Fanfiction, I was only a little freshman-or should I say freshwoman-in high school. But back before then, I used to go on the website and read some awesome stories (some of them are gone now, so I can't mention the titles for the stories, writers, and such). So eventually, I sat down at my computer, which I got before high school, and started typing. And thus, my first fanfic, **Detective Rose: Search for the Bloody Murderer** was born! But this came after my little pet test: **Get Well Soon, My Love**, my true first story.

I will admit this though; I just came up with the idea of that story in my head earlier before my I guess you could say when I started my Fanfiction career. Now, do I watch detective shows and such? Not really. Well, I remember the **Pink Panther** from when I was a kid, so would that count? Oh, I kinda watch **America's Most Wanted**, but I don't want to watch it too much, because I would be scared to walk outside to get the newspaper. I also come across **Bones** and **Prison Break** (on the FOX channel), and **Cops** (it's on various channels, so you can't miss it), so I guess those shows count as well. And I also used to watch **Unsolved Mysterious** with my older sister when I was real young. It sucks that it's cancelled now.

Anyway, I guess I wanted to make a story that made Amy actually cool, considering that in the games, I would admit that she is only a nuisance and quite an annoyance. (Don't even think about sending hate comments about my personal opinion about her, not everyone likes what you like!) And well, I thought she would be cool as a detective and there you go! Of course, I wanted her to have Cream and the Chaotix as her sidekicks. Plus, I wanted to let other Sonic characters make small appearances time after time. And yes, I always thought that Shadow and Amy looked cute today and I still do. So I made him as Amy's love interest, but also the main bad guy. Since this quote is now crossing my mind, I might as well say it: WHAT A TWIST! Now I wasn't sure to have Eggman appeared in the story, but I managed to only have him being mentioned I think once or twice by the characters. The P.O.V. style, well, it was my first time at it, and I guess I did pretty well back then. Nowadays, as I am reading the comments, I begin to see that not a lot of people like Sally Acorn. Personally, I didn't consider her as one of my favorite characters, but I don't necessarily hate Sally. But I will admit that she can be bossy and so picky. Look, I know you're a princess, ma'am, but do you have to be some sort of bitch as well? Seriously, did anyone see episode 11 of **Sonic SatAM** when the gang meets this guy named Griff and then Sally starts to take liking into him? What a whore! Ohhh…so now I see why not a lot of people like her. Hell, she makes Sonic jealous with Antoine as well! Now I see everything!

Back to the actual topic, I also had Scourge the Hedgehog (only known in the **Archie** **Comics**) make his appearance at the end of the story. Now I will tell you this right now, though I have played some Sonic games and watched the shows (Including **Sonic X**…Please shoot me.), I never owned any of the comics. One, because I couldn't find them at nearby stores. Two, even if I would to see them, my mom would not want to spend about to $10-$15 when every issue came out, so I was out of luck then. And hell, all of those comics came out when I was in elementary school dammit! And well, I also used some human characters, but they weren't seen much. For the plot, I kinda wanted to mix such genres like Mystery, Romance, Drama, Suspense, and some Comedy. Again, this was my first fanfic, so I just typed whatever came into my mind. Plus, there were times that I moved the story's focus on a few minor characters (Subplots anyone?). And hell, for my very first fanfic, how was I able to make it over 50 chapters! I didn't really planned on it at first, but I just said 'Oh well' and went with it. The one thing that surprised me the most was how many reviews I received and how many people added this story to their favorites. And well, my story received a lot of hits. To this day, I appreciate it, so thank you very much. =)

Ok, I bet you're wondering: 'How do you feel about this story now?' Well…

Don't judge me on this, but hell this is my old fanfic, I don't like it anymore. Hell, as I'm reading through this again, wow, so many misspelled words and bad grammar! Yes, I know I was young and didn't know much about writing like an expert, but come on! Seriously, I really hate the plot in this story; it really is rather pathetic in my opinion. Most of the characters were well…Out of character, if you know what I mean. Now, let me say this right now, since I am now re-reading this story, I SERIOUSLY don't want to make a sequel to it. I have thoughts on remaking the story, but so far, I either don't have the time or I'm busy writing other fanfics. As of now, no remake is confirmed and I am NOT writing a sequel! And as for the songs I put in this story, wow, what was I thinking? Yeah I wanted to set the mood, but hell, like I said, I don't like this story anymore. I understand that many people like this and I appreciate it, but I really, REALLY don't like it at all!

But if I were to change the story, I'm thinking of something like this…

1. Amy works alone but gets a little help from the Chaotix

2. Shadow being a hero and Amy's partner

3. Not having too many pointless characters

4. Adding in the main characters' back stories in the middle of the story (only Amy and Shadow though)

5. Scourge to be the main villain

6. Have some humorous romance development between Amy and Shadow

7. Maybe having a love triangle thing with Sonic, Amy, and Shadow

8. More importantly, having a good plot to the story

9. And not have too many chapters. At least 40 or 50 would be fine with me

As I've said, I don't when I would actually start rewriting for this story, so only time will tell. And yes, I would keep the story Rated T. And as I've said before, there will NOT be a sequel!

Well, there you have it. I have now given you all my personal opinions about this fic as of now. My god, it has been about 3 years since I wrote this story and I was able to finish this in two months when I got started with this! Beginner's luck I suppose. As of now, I wish I could've done better. Sometimes I had thoughts on removing this fic and do a remake, but since too many people liked it, I'll just leave it up on the website for you all to enjoy. In conclusion, this was my very first fanfic, and I guess reading this now helps me become a better writer.

(One more thing: If you are familiar with my **'A Lost Soul' **story, keep an eye on an updated personal opinon on that story as well. Yes, I am now taking the time to look back at my old fanfics...)

Thank you very much for reading and understanding my feelings towards this story. If you still like the story, much obliged. Take care and God bless. =)


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